Rural vSciiool Leaflet 



1331 



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with the hay. If cut before they are too old and tough, 

 they are eaten by cattle with apparent relish. In pas- 

 tures sheep and even cows will eat daisies although they 

 prefer grass and clover. If a field once becomes infested 

 with daisies, the only cure is to plow the soil and grow 

 on it a cultivated crop, such as corn or potatoes, for one 

 or two years. 



Grass and clover seed used on the farm often con- 

 tain daisy seeds. The use of weed-infested farm seeds 

 is largely responsible for the spread of troublesome weeds. 

 Good seeds cost a httle more, but they are always safer 



to use. 



shepherd's-purse 



Shepherd 's-purse gets its name from the peculiar 

 shape of the seed pods. It is a winter annual, that is, 

 it begins to grow in the autumn and Hves over winter, 

 after the manner of winter wheat. On account of this 



habit it is one of the first plants to 

 flower in the spring. However, not 

 all the plants start in the fall. 

 Many of them begin their growth 

 in the spring or the early summer 

 and live until autumn. 



The seeds are very small and 

 are produced in great numbers. 

 They are found in all kinds of small 

 farm seeds and are often sown with 

 them. 



Shepherd's-purse is found grow- 

 ing under all sorts of conditions, although it seldom 

 causes any serious trouble. The chief difficulty 

 arises when it becomes established in a lawn or 

 other grass land where the grass is too thin. Being 

 an annual it is very easily destroyed in cultivated land. 

 In grass land it may be killed by cutting the stem 

 below the leaves, with a sharp hoe or other tool. 



Editors' note. — In addition to the four weeds 

 described, which have been prescribed for study by 

 the State syllabus, many teachers will find it easy and 

 profitable to extend the weed study to include all the 

 more common weeds of the neighborhood. In the fall 

 Shepherd's-purse it is interesting work to make collections of weed seeds. 



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f 



White daisy 



