B62 



Rural School Leaflet. 



SOME COMMON WEEDS 

 Paul J. White 



WEED has been defined as a plant for 

 which we have not yet found a use. 

 Perhaps it would be more correct to 

 define a weed as a plant which is 

 growing out of its proper place. 

 Timothy is a useful plant but you 

 do not want it intruding into your 

 flower garden. We are fond of dande- 

 lion greens and often grow the plant for that 

 purpose, but if we have to spend hours and even 

 days pulling them out of the lawn we are in- 

 clined to call them weeds. 



In this leaflet we want to study a few of the 

 most common weeds found near our homes. 

 Let us begin with the wild mustard. It may 

 be recognized by its bright yellow flowers 

 which begin to appear when the plant is but a 

 few inches in height. It has rather large, juicy 

 leaves with large veins on the under side. The 

 stem is rough with short, stiff bristles. At the 

 base of the leaf and where the branches come 

 out, yovL will find a reddish spot. The plant 

 is often found in gardens and is common in 

 cultivated crops. It is especially troublesome 

 in oat fields. 



Foxtail resembles millet. It grows in newly 

 seeded lawns, in fields and in the garden. The 

 lower part of the stem is reddish brown. This 

 color is also found on the under side of the leaves 

 and on the soft bristles of the head. Look for a 

 few soft hairs about one-fourth of an inch long 

 near the base of the leaves. (See Fig. 17). 

 Crab-grass has long finger-like branches on which the seeds are borne. 

 (Fig. 20.) It appears in July and is a troublesome weed until late in 

 summer. A single seed will send up several stems which root at the 

 joints. The leaves are wa\y margined on one edge and are covered with 

 soft downy hairs both on the upper and lower sides. 



Fig 12. — Common daisy 



