No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 437 



REPORT OF THOMAS MEEHAN, BOTANIST, TO 

 THE STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Harrisbiirg, January 23, 1901. 



The report of the Botanist the past year has been confined to 

 answering inquiries by letter, as to the names of new weeds that 

 have made their appearance in various localities, and for informa- 

 tion as to their injurious character and methods for the prevention 

 of their spread, and for their easy extirpation. 



There has been no newcomer brought to his attention that is likely 

 to be a serious menace to the agriculturist, though two very annoying 

 species seem to be extending their boundaries considerably. These 

 are the English wild lily {Convoloulus arvensis^) a member of the 

 morning-glory family, and the horse nettle (Solanum CaroU7uamim,)a. 

 relative of the potato and the egg plant. Both of these increase by 

 underground stolons or runners, and the smallest fragment of a 

 broken root grows to be a new plant. A single hoeing or breaking 

 up by the cultivator only serves to multiply the evil. If, however, 

 these plants get a second hoeing before the disturbed roots have 

 made mature leaves, they are usually totally destroyed. 



It may be taken as an axiom that no plant can live over a single 

 season, if not permitted to mature growing leaves. If, for instance, 

 a field of corn be infested with these root-increasing plants, the 

 working of the cultivator will destroy numbers, and a week or two 

 afterwards the man with the hoe should follow to cut up the few 

 that may still be inclined to grow. It is of course, interesting to 

 have the names of the newcomers. It enables ns to understand 

 what we read about their behaviour and general character in other 

 quarters, but in practice their destruction is easy without the knowl- 

 edge of their names. 



This practical solution may also be applied to cases of inquiry 

 from fungus growths, specimens of which are accordingly sent for 

 name amongst the troubles of fruit growing. Formerly it was be- 

 lieved that that these minute plants only grew on dead or diseased 

 portions of fruits and plants, just as we know the blue mould appears 

 on leather or bread. But it is now known that some of these cause 

 disease. With this knowledge the grape grower places a paper bag 

 over the bunch of grapes in an early stage of formation. This ex- 



