The best time for digging dandelion root is from July to September, during which time the milky juice becomes thicker and the bitterness increases. It should be carefully washed and thoroughly dried. Dandelion roots decrease considerably in size by drying, weighing less than half as much as the fresh roots and becoming wrinkled lengthwise. The dried root should not be kept too long, as drying diminishes its medicinal virtues. =Imports and prices.=—During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1903, the imports of taraxacum or dandelion root into the United States amounted to 115,522 pounds. The price per pound ranges from 4 to 6 cents. DOCKS. _Rumex_ species. Several species of docks possess medicinal properties. Among these are the yellow dock (_Rumex crispus_ L.), the broad-leaved dock (_R. obtusifolius_ L.), and the yellow-rooted water dock (_R. britannica_ L.), all more or less abundant throughout the United States. Other species are also recognized as possessing value in medicine, but those above mentioned are the kinds generally collected. Yellow Dock. _Rumex crispus_ L. =Other common names.=—Curled dock, narrow dock, sour dock. (Fig. 5.) [Illustration: FIG. 5.—Yellow dock (_Rumex crispus_ L.). First year’s growth.] =Range and habitat.=—The species most commonly employed in medicine is the yellow dock, a perennial introduced from Europe and now found throughout the United States as a troublesome and very persistent weed in cultivated as well as waste ground, among rubbish heaps, and along roadsides. =Description.=—The deep, spindle-shaped root sends up an erect, angular, and furrowed stem about 2 to 4 feet high, leafy, branching near the top, and bearing numerous elongated clusters of inconspicuous flowers. The leaves are lance-shaped, acute, with the margins strongly waved and crisped. The lower leaves are obtuse or heart shaped at the base, from 6 to 8 inches in length, and are borne on long stalks, while those nearer the top are narrower and shorter, being only 3 to 6 inches long, on short stems or stemless. From June to August the yellow dock puts forth, interspersed with leaves, its many long dense clusters of green, drooping groups of inconspicuous flowers placed in circles around the stem. Broad-leaved Dock. _Rumex obtusifolius_ L. =Other common names.=—Bitter dock, common dock, blunt-leaved dock, butter dock. (Fig. 6.) [Illustration: FIG. 6.—Broad-leaved dock (_Rumex obtusifolius_ L.). First year’s growth.] =Range and habitat.=—The range of this very common weed extends from the New England States to Oregon and south to Florida and Texas; it occurs in waste places.