=Description.=—Broad-leaved dock differs from the yellow dock principally in its more robust habit of growth. It grows to about the same height, but its stem is stouter, and the leaves, which are wavy along the margin as in the yellow dock, are much broader and longer. The lower leaves have long stalks, and are from 6 to 14 inches in length, with heart-shaped or roundish bases, while the upper ones are from 2 to 6 inches long and are on short stalks. [Illustration: FIG. 7.—Leaf, fruiting spike, and root of broad-leaved dock.] The green flowers appear from June to August, and are in rather long, open clusters, the groups rather loose and far apart. In all of the docks here mentioned, the three inner divisions of the calyx (outer covering of flower) in fruiting form a kind of triangular nut, like the grain of buckwheat (to which family, Polygonaceæ, the docks belong), and one or more of these divisions bear on the back a small granule. The difference between flower and fruit is barely distinguishable when seen from a little distance so long as the fruit is immature, both being green, but later in the season, as the fruit ripens, the spikes take on a rusty-brown color. (Fig. 7.) Yellow-rooted Water Dock. _Rumex britannica_ L. =Habitat and range.=—As the common name indicates, this plant frequents swampy and wet places and banks of streams. It is found from Canada to New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and westward to Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa. =Description.=—The yellow-rooted water dock is a taller plant than either of the docks previously mentioned, its stout stem sometimes reaching a height of 6 feet. The leaves at the base of the plant are borne on long stalks, and are from 1 to 2 feet in length, but, as with the other two species, the leaves toward the top of the plant are shorter, as are also the stalks supporting them. The densely flowered clusters are not as leafy as in the preceding species mentioned. The plant flowers from July to August. [Illustration: FIG. 8.—Yellow dock root.] Dock Roots. The root, which is the part to be collected for medicinal purposes, is very similar in all of these species of dock (figs. 7 and 8), usually from 8 to 12 inches long, fleshy, often somewhat branched, the outside dark reddish-brown with a rather thick bark, internally yellowish. It possesses but a very faint odor and a bitter, astringent taste. The roots should be collected in late summer or autumn after the fruiting tops have ripened, then washed, split lengthwise into halves or quarters, and carefully dried. The docks are largely employed for purifying the blood and as a remedy in skin diseases. =Imports and prices.=—Rumex or dock roots are imported into this country to the extent of about 125,000 pounds annually. The price ranges from 2 to 8 cents per pound.