Rural School Leaflet 



120: 



FIVE COMMON WEEDS 



Paul J. White 



Sour dock. — This unsightly weed is common by the roadside and 

 about farm buildings. It is found also in old meadows that have not 

 been plowed for several years. It 

 grows two to three feet tall. Its 

 most distinguishing character is 

 the leaf, which is crinkly at the 

 margins; hence the name " curled 

 dock." The sour leaves are often 

 used as greens. The blossoms are 

 greenish, with no brightly colored 

 parts. The small, dark brown, 

 shining seeds are common in clover 

 and grass seeds. 



Sour dock is a long-lived plant, 

 but it can be easily killed by 

 plowing the land. It has a deep, 

 straight root. If found growing 

 in the yard it should be pulled or 

 grubbed before the seeds are 

 formed. 



Ragweed. — This common weed, 

 familiar to every farmer, is a pest 

 in newly seeded meadows. It grows in cultivated fields and may often 

 be seen along the roadside. The seeds are plentiful in clover seed and 

 in small grains. 



Ragweed lives but one year, yet it is one of the hardest weeds to control. 

 The seeds will lie in the ground several years without growing, and when 

 the field is again plowed they will spring up. The plants develop late 

 in the season and mature in grainfields after harvest; therefore, when 

 these weeds are numerous the stubble of grain should be mowed before 

 the seeds are ripened. In cultivated fields none of the ragweed plants 

 should be allowed to produce seeds. 



Beggar-ticks. — This is not a common weed, yet it is one which we shall 

 remember from the first introduction. It is a tall, smooth weed, found 

 most frequently in moist, rich lands, and it lives but one year. The seeds 

 are brown, thin, and flat, about one third inch long, and they have two, 

 or sometimes three, forks at the top. These are barbed, the projections 

 pointing backward. W T hen the seeds become fastened to clothing they 

 are removed with great difficulty. They also cause trouble in the wool 

 of sheep. 



Beggar-ticks. The teeth on the prongs of the 

 seed point toward the base of the seed 



