I'l.AX IT7 



Thr name S/>iro/i/(i, 1 )(nl(in.iiis, is Ironi llic Latin span^o, 1 scalier, 

 the seeds being widely scattricd in rornlidds. and nrz'i/isis dt'noics its 

 preference for cultivated ground. 



It is called Beggar-weed. r>(iulr laaish, Co\\<|uakc, 1 )(iddei-. I)i>ilicr, 

 Farmer's Ruin, Toad Flax, I'rankc, Ciranyagh, Lousy Cirass, Make- 

 beggar, Mouniain Flax, Pick l\)cket. Pick Purse, Poverty Weed, 

 Sandweed, Sinirrx. \'arr, N'.utcI, \ awr, \\\v. 



The name Spurre) is said to he giv'en because "on the stalk are 

 set at distances, or joints, small narrow leaves, vvax'ing or bending, in 

 the manner of a star or a spui- rowel oi many points ". Hut .Spurrey 

 maybe from Spergula. It was called branke because it has the pro- 

 perty of fatting cattle. 



On the Continent it is used as todder, and is ihougin eciual to clo\'er 

 in Prance. Poultry eal the seeds. An oilcake is prepared irom it, 

 excellent for cattle. It can be sown and reaped in eight weeks. In 

 times of famine it has been usetl to make bread. 



EssilXtial Si'Eciiic Characters: — 



5S. Spergnla arvcnsis. L. — Stem slender, suberect, leaves whorled, 

 linear, sub\'iscid, with chaftv stipules at the base, tlf)wers panicled, small, 

 white, petals entire, seeds with clavate papill:e. 



Flax (Linum usitatissimmn. L.) 



This plant is one ol the most anciently cultivated plants, found in 

 Neolithic and Roman beds in Britain, Capsules and seeds of flax are 

 common at Redhill, suggesting the bundles were steeped there. It was 

 cultivated in Neolithic times. It occurs to-day where Ha.x is cultivated 

 either for oil or fibre, and has been so for 4000 to 5000 years in Meso- 

 potamia, Assyria, P^gypt, being still wild in the district between the 

 Persian Gulf, Caspian Sea, Black Sea. 



The early cultivation of this plant shows that it has Ijeen u.sed in 

 the weaving of textiles for a lf)ng period, and as iis occurrence to-dav is 

 merely an indication of its escape from cultivation its habitat is always 

 (in Britain) an artificial one. It is fotmd on waste grouiul, in offal 

 yards, millyards, docks, antl granaries, and generally in and about 

 towns where the .seeds are liable to dispersal, or where canals and 

 railways assist in the accidental .scattering of .seeds. 



Flax has a characteristic habit of its own, being usually erect and 

 single-stemmed. It has narrowly elliptical alternate leaves, which are 

 a.scending and linear. It is branched above, and smooth, the leaves 

 close, without order, and V'i<-"rved. 



