634 Journal of Agriculture. [11 Oct., 1909. 



germination value was helow the proper percentage. In one case, the 

 germination value was nil; in another, 6; in a third, 7; and in a 

 tourth, 9 per cent. These cases, of course, would mean an absolute 

 failure of the crop, and a loss not merely of the value of the seed but 

 also of the money spent in preparing the ground, as well as the value of 

 the land during its enforced idleness. In addition, it must be remem- 

 bered that proper! v made tests in a germinator give higher values for seeds 

 than can be obtained in fields o,r gardens, .since the seeds are kept under 

 the be.st possible conditions, and are shielded from all external injurious 

 agencies 



WOOD SORREL SOLD FOR CLOVp]R. 



Alfred J. liicart, D.Sc, Ph.D., /'.L.S., Govcriimcnt Bolanr-l and 

 Professor of Botanv in the Melbourne U niversit y. 



Whilst on a visit to Hamilton recently, Mr. Sevmour, Potato Expert, 

 was interviewed by a local farmer regarding a crop that was growing on 

 a small field on his property. The field in question w^as sown with 

 seed bought as Clover seed but at the time of inspection it was covered with 

 v.'hat was evidently a weed. Mr. Seymour forwarded a flowering specimen 

 to me and I have identified it as Oxalis cerrnia, Thunb., South African 

 Wood Sorrel. This plant, when in leaf, is sometimes mistaken for 

 clover. An English species of the same genus, Oxalis Acetosella, is sup- 

 posed to be the original Irish Shamrock, now usually represented by a 

 clover, Trifolium refe)is. 



The Wood Sorrel is a naturalized alien which prefers slightly sour 

 soil and though it likes moisture, tides over drought by the aid of its 

 underground parts. These produce bulbils freely, and since the seed 

 is also abundant the plant spreads rapidly. Drainage and liming, fol- 

 lowed by manuring, and coupled with a scarifying of the surface, and 

 the encouragement of the larger pasture plants, are usually sufficient to 

 practicallv suppress it on pasture land infested bv it. On agricultural 

 land, clean cultivation and a season or two of root crops, potatoes or 

 leafv fodder crops are advisable. A year's fallowing, coupled with fre- 

 quent stirring of the soil in the hot weather 01 as often as any fresh 

 growth appears, is useful, provided the soil is not too light, in which case 

 it may waste. The plant readily spreads in again from roadsides, waste 

 places and the borrlers of fields if the.se are left foul. Although the 

 leaves are nutritious and have been used as a vegetable, they are too acid 

 to form good fodder and are usually untouched In stock. 



The Wood Sorrel resembles Clover in the shape of its three leaflets 

 placed at the end of a long stalk, but the leaves are more fleshy and ha\e 

 a distinct acid taste. The flowers are large, each on a distinct stalk in a 

 loose clu.ster at the end of the upright flowering stem. In this species 

 they are yellow, but in other Wood Sorrels they are often pink or white. 

 The flowers of Clover are like \e.x\ small Pea flowers and are clustered 

 in dense heads, so that a child can distinguish i;etwe('n a true clover and 

 a wood sorrel. 



A somewhat similar error has caused manv people to plant a useless 

 fodder plant in place of a u.seful one, in this case the error arising from 

 confusion in the popular names. In many cases Tagasaste {Cytisus proli- 

 ferus, L. var. alb/ts), which is often erroneously called the Tree Lucerne, 

 has been .sold and planted in place of the true Tree Lucerne, Medicago 

 arhorea. 



