26 
LITTLE WANDERERS. 
but its juice is milky and bitter, and gets more bitter 
as the plant grows older. The lettuce flowers have 
akenes like the dandelion, and each akene has a plume 
like that of the dandelion. 
Away fly the pretty plumed akenes, 
and lettuce is thus sown by the way- 
.side. But one seldom sees garden let- 
tuce growing, except in gardens ; for 
it is so tender the strong, rough weeds 
choke and kill it. 
There is a wild lettuce, however, 
that has a large number of flower 
heads, and of course a great many 
pretty, silky, tufted akenes. These let- 
tuces sometimes shine as if they had 
been snowed upon when their silky, 
white plumed akenes first open out. 
I advise you to see if you can find 
some of them next summer. The best place to look 
is alongside fences and hedges and in the corners of 
pastures. 
There is a lettuce so troublesome to the farmer that 
large sums of money have been appropriated to exter- 
minate it. It is called the Prickly Lettuce, because its 
leaves and stalks are prickly. It came to this country 
from Europe. It is quite as destructive to the farmer's 
crops as is the Canada thistle. 
Wild lettuce. 
