W. J. Beal

“ A farmer buys clover seeds or grass seeds that were grown in some state that never before grew seeds that went onto his farm and thus he may get some new weeds. Seeds of alfalfa or some other crop bring new kinds of weeds, especially those of dodder. As every kind of weed goes onto a farm to stay there it follows that as a country becomes older the greater the number of kinds of weeds. ”

“ Where hand labor is employed, it is far less expensive and much easier to keep weeds down by raking or hoeing once a week than by going over the ground much less frequently.
The habits of a weed determine to a great extent the best mode of fighting it. Certain remedies suggest themselves for creeping perennials, like quack grass and toad flax, while different treatment is best for narrow-leaved dock; and still a different mode of attack may be adopted for crab grass and purslane. ”

“ To begin with, years and years ago no new farm in the wilderness of Michigan contained more than twenty to thirty-five kinds of weeds, as there were not more than thirty-five sorts in the entire state, while at present there are not far from 250 kinds. A large majority of weeds hail from older countries, more especially from Europe. ”

“ Weeds are annuals, as pigweeds, crab grass, purslane; biennials as bull thistle and mulleins; perennials, like quack grass, Canada thistle, ox-eye Daisy.
Will it pay? The annual cost of successfully fighting a weedy farm of 100 acres in Ontario has been found to be about $75. Good cultivation in the long run pays a greater profit than slipshod culture. It not only kills the weeds, but keeps the soil in condition for securing good crops. ”

“ As a rule each farm is annually getting more sorts of weeds, and as each farmer is cultivating weeds, they are more freely distributed in every field and along every roadside and by exchanging they are carried to neighboring and distant farms.
A great many farmers buy and sow whatever the merchant offers them under the name mentioned. For example, the college has a sample of something called clover seed, sold by a dealer in this state. It contains about 40 per cent of narrow-leaved plantain. ”

“ The designer of this bulletin first had in mind something of the sort for the use of his students, not only the undergraduates, but others living on farms, or teaching in Michigan and elsewhere. Whoever grows seeds to sell, or buys seeds to sow, should be benefited by consulting the illustrations which are unsurpassed for accuracy by anything in this country. ”

“ Meadows and pastures, especially where the land is not fertile, abound in weeds that require two years or more to produce seeds, such as narrow-leaved dock, bitter dock, bull thistle, carrot, teasel, two kinds of mulleins, night-flowering catchfly, evening primrose, several kinds of fleabane, ox-eye daisy, orange hawkweed, two or three kinds of plantain, Canada thistle, hound's tongue, stick seed, sow thistle, horse nettle, buttercups, toad flax, silvery cinquefoil, and many more, not excluding some annuals, like crab-grass, tickle grass, pigeon grasses. ”

“ Weeds everywhere; they thrive in the cornfield, they choke wheat in the field, they annoy the gardner, they thrive in the meadow, they spring up by the roadside, they encroach on the swamp, they damage the fleeces of sheep. The rapid increase in the number and variety of weeds should cause alarm. ”

“ In a few cases the plants break loose from the soil when mature and become tumble-weeds. (Some pigweeds, Russian thistle.)
11. Some seeds and seed-like fruits are furnished each with a balloon, or a sail, or with grappling hooks. (Dandelion, sticktights, burdock.)
12. Some remain with the dead plant long into winter, and when torn off by the wind or by birds, drift for long distances on the snow, often from one farm to another. (Pigweeds.)
13. Some have creeping root-stocks or tubers. ”

“ Trifolium repens L. Seeds scarcely shining, yellow to light brown, flattened, one of the rounded edges thinner than the other, and between the two a slight groove on each side, one end rounded, the other truncate with a slight depression in the center containing the seed scar 1.-1.2 mm. long to 1 mm. wide. The seeds that are truncate at one end are anatropous, some of them resembling those of red clover are half anatropous. ”

“ See that threshing machines, hay racks, grain bags from other farms are well cleaned before used on the farm.
4. Cook or grind screenings and burn chaff when certain weeds are suspected.
5. Send seeds to the Agricultural College, East Lansing, for identification, unless they are known to be harmless.
6. Strive to prevent weeds from ripening seeds. This is especially important late in the season in case of all pigweeds, purslane and others where the flowers are very small and are liable to be overlooked and the seeds ripen before their presence is suspected. ”

“ The new arrival of a weed of first rank stimulates watchfulness. (Russian thistle.)
3. In occupying the soil after a crop has been removed they prevent the loss of fertility by shading the ground.
4. Weeds plowed under add some humus and fertility to the soil, though in a very much less degree than clover or cow peas.
5. Some of them furnish food for birds in winter.
[Pg 105]
WHAT ENABLES A PLANT TO BECOME A WEED.
1. Sometimes by producing an enormous number of weeds. (A large plant of purslane, 1,250,000 seeds; a patch of daisy fleabane, 3,000 to a square inch.) ”

“ The cuts give a good idea of the variety of shapes; surface dull or somewhat glossy, often kidney shaped, with the scar in a depression near the middle, the tips may be truncate or acute or rounded, 2–2.5 mm. long in cross-section, oval; when viewed from one edge it is seen to be bent or warped in various ways, half anatropous, often seen with a slight depression extending along one edge from the scar to one end, larger seeds more often flattened than are the shorter. A prominent forage plant, the seeds of which are often adulterated. ”

“ In other cases by the great vitality of their seeds. Shepherd's purse, mustard, purslane, pigeon-grass, pigweeds, pepper-grass, May weed, evening primrose, smart weed, narrow-leaved dock, two chick-weeds survive when buried in the soil thirty years at least, as I have found by actual test. ”

“ Annual Fleabane. Erigeron annuus (L.) Pers. Flowers white; achenes smooth, shining, brownish white, translucent, flattened, obovate or oblong, .7-.9 mm. long, bearing at the apex a whorl of very small diverging bristles, the longest ones having been rubbed off. Faint traces of a few oppressed hairs may be seen under a good lens. Native to this country and a very prominent weed in thin meadows. ”

“ Seeds are likely to occur in either of three different guises depending upon the degree their ripeness or the amount of threshing to which they have been subjected. See the figure of this species. Seeds granular, circular, dull, jet-black, or gray in case the thin ovary remains, 1.3–1.7 mm. in diameter, lower face convex, the upper slightly convex if mature, with a slight notch on the rounded edge, the lower face bearing a slight curved groove, leading from the notch to near the center, the upper face with a light spot at the center. ”

“ The right kind of a man, who will carefully observe and study the kinds of weeds and their habits, fighting each to the best advantage, i. e. with method.
2. See that all seeds purchased or grown at home for seed are free from seeds of weeds. ”

“ Butter and Eggs. Toad-Flax. Linaria vulgaris Hill. Linaria Linaria (L.) Karst. Flowers yellow and orange; seeds dark brown or black, flat, circular or oval, surrounded by a broad wing-margin, the wing notched and covered by numerous fine radiating ridges, the surface of the seed roughened by numerous projecting points, seed, including its wing, 1.5–2 mm. long. Introduced from Europe. A vigorous weed in meadows, spreading by seeds and by root stocks.
Fig 166. Moth Mullein. Verbascum Blattaria L.
Moth Mullein. ”

“ Narrow-leaved Plantain. Plantago lanceolata L. Seeds shining, amber-colored to brown, oval, 2–2.5 mm. long, shaped like a shallow, thick-walled canoe with ends rounded alike, a dark scar occupying the [Pg 159] middle of the narrow concave side, a faint, transverse groove across the convex side near the middle sometimes apparent. Often found mixed with clover seeds from which it is very difficult to separate. Introduced from Europe.
Fig 174. Broad-leaved Plantain. Plantago major L.
Broad-leaved Plantain. ”

“ PURSLANE FAMILY. PORTULACACEAE.
Fig 72. Purslane. Pussley. Portulaca oleracea L.
Purslane. Pussley. Portulaca oleracea L. Flowers yellow, seeds jet-black, shining, flattened, wedge-shaped, having three rounded nearly equal sides, broadly oval or almost circular, often having a curved tooth or point on one side, with 3–4 curved rows of minute tubercles. Seed .5-.8 mm. in diameter. Naturalized from the southwest. Every gardener knows how difficult it is to exterminate this weed.
CROWFOOT FAMILY. RANUNCULACEAE.
Fig 73.Small-flowered Crowfoot. Ranunculus abortivus L.
Small-flowered Crowfoot. ”

“ Floral glume enclosing the grain, smooth, light colored, oval to half-oval, 1.5 to 2 mm. long, in cross section with two long sides and a short side half as long; grain light brown, obovate to oval, a small nipple at the larger end.
The plant seeds in hot countries but not in cool, temperate regions; spreading chiefly by coarse, hard rootstocks. ”

“ A few make "Hair balls" in the stomachs of horses. (Rabbit-foot clover, crimson clover.)
11. Some injure the quality of dairy products. (Leeks, wild onions.)
12. Penny cress, and probably others, when eaten by animals, injure the taste of meat.
13. Poison hemlock, spotted cowbane and Jamestown weed are very poisonous.
14. Many weeds interfere with a rotation of crops.
15. All weeds damage the appearance of a farm and render it less valuable. (Quack-grass, Canada thistle, plantains.) ”

“ Creeping Buttercup. Ranunculus repens L. Achenes plump, dull, light-brown, nearly circular, diameter 3–4 or more mm.; beak more or less hooked, hem-like margin conspicuous. This species usually seeds very sparingly, but when once introduced, it looses no time in spreading by creeping stems. Introduced from Europe. Moist land; a rapid spreader by runners.
POPPY FAMILY. PAPAVERACEAE.
Fig 77. Celandine. Chelidonium majus L.
Celandine. ”

“ Mouse-Ear Hawkweed. Hieracium Pilosella L. Flowers yellow; achenes jet black, oblong, straight or curved, apex truncate, base abruptly pointed, cylindrical or narrowly oval, the sides bearing 10 narrow vertical ridges. Introduced from Europe. The achenes very closely resemble those of the orange hawkweed. It doesn't matter much, for the habits are the same, and one is about as noxious as the other. Introduced from Europe.
Fig 202. Elecampane. Inula Helenium L.
Elecampane. ”

“ Cuscuta arvensis Beyrich. A pale yellow leafless parasitic vine; seeds dull, yellowish brown, minutely pitted, considerably resembling those of red clover, broad oval, ovoid or spherical, .7–1 mm. long, one side rounded the other often with two flat surfaces terminating in a ridge. Not uncommon with alfalfa.
Fig 145. Flax Dodder. Cuscuta Epilinum Weihe.
Flax Dodder. Cuscuta Epilinum Weihe. Stems very slender, yellow or red, a parasitic vine; seeds dull, yellowish to dark brown, minutely pitted, nearly spherical, oval, ovoid, 1–1.5 mm. long. Introduced from Europe. [Pg 151] ”

“ Hillman, we are indebted to the authorities of the Agricultural College, of Reno, Nevada: 7, 11, 12, 16, 17, 23, 24, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 44, 46, 55, 56, 58, 63, 68, 69, 71, 74, 75, 84, 86, 87, 91, 92, 95, 97, 98, 99, 108, 110, 116, 125, 130, 135, 138, 140, 144, 146, 152, 153, 158, 159, 172, 173, 174, 175, 178, 179, 181, 182, 185, 187, 189, 190, 191, 199, 203, 205, 212, 214, 215.
"A weed is any useless or troublesome plant." ”

“ Convolvulus sepium L. Pod nearly globose, about 8 mm. in diameter, usually covered by the bracts and calyx; seeds dull black or dark brown, roughened, oval, about 5 mm. long, one face convex, the other face sloping to the edges from a central ridge. Native to this country. Seldom seeding in Michigan. On low land. ”

“ Syntherisma linearis (Kroch.) Nash. Spikelets in the rough, before severe rubbing, ovoid or oblong, flattened, 2 mm. long, first glume minute, second and third as long as the spikelet, soft with very short hairs, one of them 3-nerved, the other 5-nerved; floret after severe rubbing, brown to black, smooth, floral glume of the rounded side curving over the edges below covering with their edges about two-thirds of the palea. Introduced from Europe; becoming troublesome on thin lawns. [Pg 114] ”

“ Three-Seeded Mercury. Acalypha Virginica L. Seeds 1.3–1.8 mm. long oval or obovoid, dull, light to dark reddish brown or gray, mottled with black spots, surface covered with numerous irregular vertical lines, a ridge (hilum) extending from the pointed end for about one-third the length, continuing to the broad extremity as a dark line (raphe) . Native to this country. Moist land.
Fig 120. Cypress Spurge. Euphorbia Cyparissias L.
Cypress Spurge. ”

“ Polygonum erectum L. Achenes dull, light to dark brown, unequally 3-sided, ovoid or rhombic, finely granular and striate lengthwise, the faces sometimes concave, the angles rounded, 2.5–3 mm. long, sometimes with the remains of calyx attached. Native to this country. Of little account.
Fig 34. Smart-weed. Polygonum Hydropiper L.
Smart-weed. ”