428 Jounitil of Agriciiltui'\ Victoria. [10 July, 1917. 



agents in tlfe spread of briars and blackberries, and in this respect th& 

 imported starling may in all probability be a very serious proposition. 

 If these pellets are examined many seeds will Ije found in them, but 

 more especially those belonging to the two plants mentioned. 



Birds may travel a long distance after feeding on plants of this 

 description before the pellet® are ready for ejection, and thus the seeds 

 would h& scattered ever wide areas. Many seeds are carried in the 

 hoofs of travelling stock, while the hooked seeds, such as the various 

 burrs, are carried in the coats of animals, to be dropped later on, or the 

 burr may discharge its seeds on the way. Again, as is well known, many 

 seeds are wind-borne. 



Stock trucks are also excellent agencies for the spread of weeds. 

 The droppings in these dry and become pulverised, and later when 

 strong winds blow through these trucks this dry matter is swept' out on 

 to the adjacent country through which the train is passing. On one 

 occasion I found a very strong patch of St'. John's Wort growing inside 

 the fence between Yendon and Navigator stations, on the Geelong to 

 Ballarat line, and there appears to be but lititle doubt that' the seed 

 was blown out of a truck that had passed along this line. 



In all probability irrigation channels are the worst offenders of all 

 in the spread of weeds.' These channels run through miles of country 

 and carry all kinds of seeds floating on the water, some of which find 

 lodgment on the banks, where ideal conditions exist for their growth. 

 These plants again shed their seeds into the water. Later on the 

 water is taken from these channels for irrigation purposes; the seeds 

 are then distributed all over the irrigable lands, and are a menace to all 

 landowners in the areas which are served by these channels. I would 

 suggest that all channel banks be laid down in grass to check weed 

 growth as much as possible, and when weeds do make an appearance they 

 most certainly should not be allowed to seed, otherwise the lands served 

 by these channels must necessarily become overrun with noxious weeds 

 of all descriptions. 



Dredging and sluicing for gold has undoubtedly been a big factor 

 in the spread of St. John's Wort, and especially so in the Avon shire, 

 where on one occasion I noticed this weed being sent down the Crooked 

 River in bunches, most, likely to find lodgmenti and root itself miles 

 further down stream. 



Weeds, like other plants, may be put into three classes, viz.: — 

 Annuals, Biennials, and Perennials. An annual comes up from a seed, 

 bears flowers and seeds, and then dies, completing its life cycle in one 

 year. A biennial grows from a seed, but only produces leaves the first 

 year. The roots live throughout the wdnter, and in the second year of 

 its life it produces seeds and afterwards dies. A perennial is a plant 

 that lives on for a number of years, and usually produces flowers and 

 seeds every year. 



Weeds reproduce themselves in various ways, viz. : — By means of 

 seeds, roots, runners, suckers, &c. 



Knowledge is always of value, and even a slight botanical knowledge 

 is of help to the farmer, for to be familiar with the life history of any 

 weed is of assistance when combating iti. The loss from weeds in this 

 country is much greater than ia usually thought, and constitutes a 

 heavy tax to the man on the land. In many instances weeds depreciate 

 land values to a very serious extent. 



