Pueblo chieftain., 1921-04-24
GERMANS DISPATCH NEW Note To II. S
The Spot Light

grass to grow where only one grew
before, deserves praise, how about the
fellow that discourages dandeiion
in its relentless determination to
grow where it isn't wanted? Speak
ing from personal experience, IN say
the dandelion man has the bigger
job.
Frenchmen have the ga1l to claim
the word dandelion as a part of their
language. They say it ought to be
be spelled, dent-de-lion, and that it
means. lions tooth. In support of
this theory they point to the gnaw-
seating effect the flower has upon
the man that is trying to make a
lawn.
Instead of dan-delion-the hyphen
indicating the omission OF. a letter
the word ought to be written da 'nde-
lion. the omitted letter being any one
that suits you, or m preferred.
Then by transposing | and IN the
latter part you get the good Scotch
word de H. which is highly siguifl-
cant.
The dandelion is good examule OF
what comes from OVERRIDING good
thing. If there we're only one dan
delion IN the world. or a half dozen
at most, it would be floral treasure
beyond prcc. But when they become
as common as German marks or Rus
sian rubles they are equally valuable.
According to the botanists, the
dandelion belongs to the composite
family. and this family represents
the most advanced stage of floral
evolution. What We call a dandelion
flower is in reality group of flow
crs, &c pluribus unum" in fact. In
most of the composite flower groups,
like the daisy, there are two kinds Of
flowers. ray or strap flowers, and
disc or tube flowers. But in the dan
delion all the flowers arc fiat, or
strap shaped.
The dandelion seeds grow at the
base of the yellow straps, and when
they are ripe each ono sprouts an
aeroplane for the purpose of waiting
itself over the fence or across the
street into the neighbours lawn. There
is no final proof as to how many dan
delion seeds stay home and how many
go visiting. If you are considering
the dandelions that ripon their seeds
in your lawn. You know they all stay
home; but when you think of those
that grow next door or across the
street you are equally sure that all
the seeds como visiting.
There are as many different ways
of curing dandelions as there are of
curing cold, and with similar re-
suits. One difficulty is that nobody
knows whether dandelions are dis
case or a habit, and as the doctors
say, you can't prescribe unless you
can diagnose. Digging dandelions is
n pleasant spring exercise and some
people prefer 1t to golf. As usually
performed it loosens the earth around
the dandelion roots. gives them air
and moisture and doubles the crop of
blossoms and seeds. BY using a min
iaturo post hole digger you may ex-
tract. along with the dandelion>plant,
cylinder of earth foot deep and
several inches in diameter. This earth
is subsequently roasted in a specially
constructed furnace at temperature
Of 5000 degrees fahrenheit for seven
hours, and the residue may be sent
TO the United States shipping board
with request to have it dumped in the
middle of the nearest convenient
ocean. In this manner the dandelion
may be cradicated, but there's no
lawn left.
''h'l htNt 'lL'i ways. 1UNs'
of which are being tried in Pueblo at
the present time, so that you might
classify the people of this city, ac-
eordlng to their dandelion habits. as
the diggers, the pickers and the dop-
ers' For the present L belong in
''ass :, but | am losing confidence.
As the national flower, I favor the
dandelion. That "e pluribus unum"
business applies equally to the dande-
lion and the U. S. A. Where can Won
find better symbol than the dande.
lion for the nation that was never
licked in war, that was never idle
in peace, and that has spread over
the continentf IF, as Abraham Lin
coin says. God must love the com.