Rural School Leaflet. 



989 



sail away in the wind like a 



balloon to a new home where it 



will not be crowded by other seeds. 

 This weed lives many years 



and spreads every year unless de- 

 stroyed. Merely plowing the land 



once will not kill it. That is the 



reason it is so common in oat 



fields. A cultivated crop which 



is carefully tilled helps to destroy 



it. It can be destroyed in pas- 

 tures by mowing twice a year — 



in June and August. It should 



not be allowed to blossom. If 



the plants are not too numerous 

 they may be cut off below the sur- 

 face of the ground and a spoonful 

 of salt put on the fresh cut. If 

 persisted in as often as they ap- 

 pear, this method is usually effec- 

 tive. 



Orange hawkweed has habits 

 similar to those of the thistle. It 

 is found in old pastures or 

 meadows which are not often 

 plowed. It spreads rapidly when 

 it once gets a foothold. This is 

 accomphshed by seeds and by 

 runners resembling those of a 

 strawberry plant. These runners 

 grow just beneath the surface. 

 The seeds are of the same balloon- 

 like character as those of the 

 thistle. Like the thistle it belongs 

 to that class of plants which lives 

 for a number of years. As a con- 

 sequence it increases in numbers 

 from year to year unless destroyed. 



Orange hawkweed may be destroyed with salt at little expense if 

 the infested field is not too large. It usually occurs first in patches. 

 If salt at the rate of twenty pounds per square rod is sown on the plants 



Fig. 37. — The Canada thistle 



