Rural School Leaflet. 



863 



Fig. 13. — Pigweed 



Shepherd's purse gets its name from the 

 shape of its seed pod. (Fig. 22.) The plant 

 begins to show small white blossoms very early 

 in the spring. Soon the seed pods appear. 

 Flowers and seeds are produced for several 

 weeks. If the plant is cut off near the ground, 

 it continues to grow by sending out branches 

 at the base of the leaf. 



Pigweed (Fig. 13). This weed is common 

 in gardens and cultivated crops. The stem is 

 veiy smooth and grooved. It grows from one 

 to three feet in height. The leaves are rather 

 thick. They are whitish on the under side. 

 The lower ones arc often notched at the edges. 

 The flowers are small and light green. 



Rib-grass is not a grass at all, but a plan- 

 tain. The heads are from one to two inches 

 long and are borne at the ends of long, slen- 

 der stems. The leaves all come out near 

 the ground. They are about five inches in 

 length and woody in appearance. Rib-grass 

 is a very troublesome weed in lawns and meadows. (Fig. 14). 



A very common weed in midsummer is wild carrot, sometimes called 

 the queen's lace handkerchief. It appears in meadows, along road- 

 sides, and in pastures. The flowers are small and occur in flat-topped 

 heads called umbels. The leaves are finely 

 divided and rather few in number. The stem 

 is rough and branching. It grows to a height 

 of two or three feet under favorable condi- 

 tions. If cut off by the mowing machine or 

 scythe it sends up several branches which 

 bear flowers at the ends. 



Pepper-grass may be recognized by the pep- 

 pery flavor of its blossoms and leaves. It 

 grows to a height of six to twelve inches. It 

 may be found almost any time during the 

 spring and summer by roadsides and in waste 

 places. (Fig. 19). 



Curled dock comes up early in the spring 

 from large, deep roots. The leaves are curled 

 from whence it gets its name. The stem is Yig. 14. Rib-grass 



