338 MONTHLY BriJ.ETIX. 



seed. To illustrate this, let me quote from ]\Ir. Gilbert H. Hicks, for- 

 merly Assistant Botanist of United States Department of Agriculture : 



'A sample of Canada blue grass offered to the United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture contained eleven kinds of foreign seeds, principally 

 weeds. Of seventeen samples of this species examined, fifteen con- 

 tained seeds of Canada thistle or the spines, indicating the probable 

 presence of this pest. Meadow foxtail from Germany, offered for 30 

 cents a pound, contained only a little more than one-quarter (27.5 per 

 cent) pure seed, the balance being about evenly divided between chaff 

 and foreign seeds, principally English rye grass worth about 10 cents 

 a pound. 



"Red top seed offered as 'fancy' at 18 cents a pound contained 

 foreign seeds at the rate of 283.000 to the pound. A sample of Rhode 

 Island bent contained 2 per cent of that species, 70 per cent being 

 chaff, and 21 per cent another species of bent, while the balance (7 per 

 cent) was dirt and weed seeds. Another sample of Rhode Island bent 

 contained none of this species whatever, but consisted of 57 per cent 

 of another species. -lO per cent chaff and dirt, and 3 per cent weed 

 seed, including twelve kinds. 



"Some of the so-called 'lawn mixtures' upon the market arc the 

 veriest frauds, consisting of a lot of inferior grass seeds mixed with 

 chaff and various impurities, practically the sweepings of the seed 

 merchant, but invariably sold at the price of high-grade grass seed. 

 A sample of lawn mixture purchased in a nearby market contained 

 45 per cent impurities, principally chaff and dirt. Among the w^eed 

 seeds present were sorrel, pigweed, three kinds of plantain, pepper 

 grass and stink grass. In general it is better for the buyer to make his 

 own lawn mixture after consulting a reliable person as to the most 

 suitable varieties for his case, and the proper proportions in which 

 they should be used." 



We have on file in this office reports of a similar nature from the 

 state university and from various county horticultural commissioners 

 in the state which prove that California is no exception to the rule. 



There is another source of trouble to the lawn maker in the city and 

 that is the neighbors. There is constant danger of migratory weeds 

 coming from the neighboring yards. This, of course, can not be helped 

 unless one can prove that the adjoining property is a nuisance and have 

 it condemned as such. Most of the trouble of this sort, however, comes 

 from vacant lots and waste places which have been allowed to run 

 wild. ]\Iost weeds found in the cities are what are known as migratory 

 weeds. That is, by their very nature they are spread rapidly. They 

 come to the city in straw packing, in hay, grain and manure, in rail- 

 road cars, and in the hair of stock. They find their way into the vacant 

 lots of the city and from there proceed to inhabit the surrounding lands. 

 It is interesting to note that many of the weeds recently reported from 

 the western states have come first to the cities, and from there have been 

 transported into the country. Canada thistle has made periodical 

 migrations westward arriving first in the cities and thence taking per- 

 manent residence in the neighborhood. The Russian thistle, prickly 

 lettuce, sneezeweed and star thistle have all been traced to the large 

 cities in each state as the source of distribution. 



