938 



Rural School Leaflet 



Bindweed 



to send stems or leaves above ground. In cultivating a field containing 



bindweed, one should be careful to avoid dragging pieces of the roots 



from place to place on the tools. The weed may be 

 widely spread in this way. 



Pigweed, or redroot. — Nearly every boy and girl 

 knows this weed. It probably takes its name from 

 the fact that it is so much relished by pigs. The 

 weed lives only one year, yet it produces an enor- 

 mous number of small, shiny, black seeds. It may 

 be distinguished from almost all other weeds by its 

 rosy pink root, somewhat resembling a beet. The 

 garden cockscomb is a near relative of pigweed; the 

 seeds of the two plants are much alike. 



Pigweed is very persistent in cornfields and in 

 other cultivated crops. It is almost sure to appear 

 after the last cultivation of corn. It grows tall and 

 rank, takinp; from the soil moisture and plant food 

 that are needed by useful plants. The only way to 

 control it is by persistent cultivation and hoeing. 



The straggling weeds may be removed by hand pulling. 



Canada thistle. — This plant is too well known to need description. It 



spreads by means of seeds carried 



by the wind or sown with clovers, 



grasses, or oats. A cultivated crop 



that is carefully tilled helps to de- 

 stroy it. It can be destroyed 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 surface of the ground and 



a spoonful of salt put on the fresh 



cut. If persisted in as often as 



they appear, this method is usually 



effective. 



Wild carrot. — Wild carrots do 



not spread from the roots, but they 



produce a great number of seeds. 



These seeds have been known to live 



in the ground several years before 



growing; therefore the plants must be repeatedly pulled or cut off. They 



are not troublesome in plowed land, but are common in old meadows- 



Pigweed, or redroot 



