40 



Fig. 11. 

 Bladder Campion, or Cow Bell. 



Silene infiata (L). 



A naturalized perennial which promises to be a bad weed in On- 

 tario ; and it is spreading very fast. It grows from 6 inches to 2 

 feet in height, and branches from the base. The leaves are oblong 

 and vary greatly in size. The flowers are white, about ^ in. broad, 

 and are arranged in a loose panicle. The flower cup (calyx), veined and 

 inflated like a bladder, distinguishes the plant from others that 

 resemble it. 



The seeds are brown and kidney-shaped, with minute tubercles 

 disposed regularly over the surface (Fig. 11 a). An average plant 

 produces about 9,000 seeds. 



Time of flowering, June-August. 

 Time of seeding, July- September. 



Dispersal — by root-stocks and as an impurity in seeds. 

 The Night-flowering Catchfly (Silene Noctijiora), resembles the 

 Bladder Campion ; but it is an annual, tall and very leafy, with a 

 viscid secretion all over its stem, often so profuse that the stems and 

 leaves are covered with small insects entangled in it. It opens at 

 night and possesses a fragrant smell. It is not so bad a weed as its 

 relative, the Bladder Campion. In Fig. 11 are shown the seeds of 

 these two plants, natural size and enlarged. That on the left is Blad- 

 der Campion, that on the right is the Might-flowering Catchfly. 



Eradication. For these weeds practically the same treatment as 

 outlined for the creeping perennials (Canada Thistle, etc.) will answer, 

 although the plow may have to be resorted to more frequently, in- 

 stead of the broad-shared cultivator, on account of the size and thick- 

 ness of the roots. 



