MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



341 



Eradication. 



Crab grass can not be killed out of a lawn l)y mowing, as it imme- 

 diately sprouts from the crown. The first principle in such eases is 

 to pull eaeli plant by hand, thouofh tliis is often a very tedious method. 

 In a blue grass lawn thorough use of a fine toothed garden rake will 

 eliminate a large per cent of such weeds without materially injuring 

 the lawn. After raking, seed down the infested areas with more grass 

 seed, put on a dressing of well pulverized manure or fertilizer, tamp 

 the soil down smooth and water. If the infestation is very heavy the 

 best method of eradication is to turn the sod under and reseed. 



Fig. 119. — Common plaintain, Plantago major, showing 

 the character of the plant and root as it appears in the 

 lawn. Note the spread of the roots. (Original.) 



COMMON PLANTAIN. 

 Plantago major. 



Common plantain is a perennial growing from a short, thick root- 

 stock. The leaves are round-ovate, averaging 3 to 6 inches long, 

 wath very strongly marked longitudinal ribs. The leaves form a 

 rosette at the surface of. the ground, there being practically no stem. 

 The flowers are in a close whorl along a spike about 2 inches long at 

 the top of a long slender leafless scape 6 to 8 inches in length. The 

 roots are long, fibrous and tough. The color of the plant is a deep 

 sea green. Jepson, in his "Flora of Western and Middle California," 

 describes the migratory habit of plantain as follows: "Probably intro- 

 duced from Europe. Called by the Indians 'White Man's Foot,' since 

 it has closely followed the advance of civilization, springing up about 

 the earliest frontier settlements." 



Eradication. 



Plantain seed is very common in all grass seed and great care should 

 be taken to see that seed for lawns is the best and cleanest on the 

 market. Cheap seed is never a bargain. The seed is much smaller 

 than clover seed and can easily be removed from it. 



Plantain will push its way into any kind of a lawn, even into 

 Bermuda grass. When an old lawn becomes infested with this weed 

 the best method of removing it is with a spud. Sever thi' upper 

 portion of the plant from the roots just below the surface of the 



