Am.  Jour.  Phabm.  ) 
Feb.  1,  1872.  J 
Dandelion  in  India,  etc. 
73 
acum  Dens-leonisy  Desf.,  which  has  bright  green  runcinate-pinnatifid 
leaves  and  the  bracts  of  the  involucre  recurved.  The  plant  has  great 
powers  of  reproduction,  both  by  its  roots  and  by  the  pappus  seeds, 
which  are  easily  wafted  by  the  winds  to  distances,  where  they  readily 
germinate  and  establish  themselves. 
The  plants  grow  abundantly  throughout  the  Himalayas,  where  two 
or  more  distinct  varieties  are  known  ;  one  is  described  as  having  large 
double  flowers,  quite  the  size  of  a  rupee,  and  another  with  small 
single  flowers,  rather  larger  than  a  sixpence.  The  larger-flowered 
form  is  said  to  possess  medicinal  properties  in  by  far  the  greatest  de- 
gree. The  plants  are  likewise  cultivated  in  various  parts  of  India, 
and  the  roots  are  collected  between  the  months  of  September  and 
February.  To  cultivate  the  plants  properly,  the  following  plan  is 
recommended  : — The  seeds  should  be  sown  in  beds,  and  the  young  * 
plants,  when  sufficiently  grown,  should  be  planted  out  on  ridges  at  a 
distance  of  nine  inches  from  each  other.  This  system  of  planting  is 
the  best  suited  for  the  production  of  large  roots,  which  is  the  princi- 
pal end  to  be  obtained,  and,  to  further  ensure  this  result,  the  flowers 
should  be  gathered  as  they  open.  The  roots,  after  they  are  taken  up, 
are  washed  clean  and  wiped  dry. 
Taraxacum  roots  are  used  in  a  variety  of  ways  in  India ;  one  use- 
ful form  is  that  of  a  paste,  which  is  made  by  pounding  the  fresh  roots, 
putting  the  mass  into  tins  or  jars  and  gently  baking  or  heating  in  an 
oven  ;  when  cool,  the  paste  is  ready  for  use  and  can  be  kept  for  a 
long  time.  To  prepare  dandelion-coffee,  the  roots  are  washed,  dried 
in  the  sun  and  cut  up  into  small  pieces,  after  which  they  are  roasted 
in  a  similar  manner  to  true  coffee ;  they  are  then  ground,  and  to 
every  nine  ounces  of  coffee  one  ounce  of  pounded  dandelion-root  may 
be  added;  these  proportions  make  an  excellent  and  useful  beverage. 
The  use  of  this  coffee  in  India  has  been  much  recommended. 
Lieutenant  Pegson,  in  a  communication  to  the  Agri-horticultural 
Society  of  India,  advocating  the  more  general  cultivation  and  use  of 
the  dandelion,  says,  "Medical  men  admit  the  value  of  this  prepara- 
tion, and  I  know  several  gentlemen  in  India  who  are,  by  their  own 
admission,  kept  alive  by  the  daily  use  of  Taraxacum-coffee.  It  is 
fairly  entitled  to  be  called  a  specific  for  the  cure  of  torpid  liver,  a  com- 
plaint from  which  the  majority  of  Europeans  suffer;  the  fact  being 
made  known  when  they  proceed  to  a  cool  or  hill  climate  and  shiver 
and  shake  with  cold  while  the  thermometer  is  at  62°  F.  only.  The 
