CORMIll.DS 



fields and cornfii-lds and allird cullivated tracts 

 is their accossibilily. At least the marjjins ot 

 such lieKIs usually i^rassed over may be exam- 

 ined. 



They were once like meadows occupied by 

 woodlands, and in many cases common land. 

 Their expansiveness is similar (llioujjh lliey 

 are less continuous) to that of meadows. The 

 cornliekl plai\ls are sun plants, ihouijh the 

 sjround llora, as in meadows, is obscured by 

 the hitflier zones. This is one of their most 

 marked characteristics. .Xs in the ca.se of 

 meadows, some ;ire lowland, some are upland, 

 but tew r.infre above an ;iltilude of looo ft., 

 whereas meadows occur at Iiiylier levels. 



The Impermanence of Cornfields. —There is 

 .1 marked contrast between the longevity of 

 the meadow and the cornlleld. In the former 

 there is but .v slit;ht disturbance of the main 

 conditions when a meadow is converted into 

 pasture, or vice versa. But in a cornfield 

 there is the yearly plouifhing, harrowing, 

 sowing, drilling, rolling, hoeing, cutting, 

 reaping, and harvesting, and a repetition of 

 this process lor the next crop. 



It is important to remember that the plants 

 of especial interest to the botanist in a cornfield 

 are treated as weeds, and are there on suffer- 

 ance, their emdicalion (total or partial) depend- 

 ing upon the diligence or laxity of the farnn-r. 

 In the meadow no such .artificial selection 

 or division into weeds or crops takes place, 

 if one excludes thistles and a few other plants 

 that are distasteful as hay, or useless, e.g. 

 Yellow Rattle. Hence one reason for the 

 ephemeral character of the denizens of the 

 cornfield, or colonists as they are called. 



.Another equally important factor in regulat- 

 ing the permanence of the cornfield flora is 

 the rotation of crops, of which more is to be 

 said later. Owing to the exhaustion of the 

 soil by certain crops of a highly-specialized 

 character, such as wheat, the plants that grow 

 in cornfields are rendered unstable, because 

 each different type of crop brings with it in the 

 sowing, and by reason of the different method 

 of tillage, a different .set of weeds. 



-A further reason for the short life of corn- 

 field plants is the possible return of arable to 

 pasture or fallow. All these facts should be 

 studied in det.til. 



Cornfields and Woodlands : some Similarities. 

 — In describing the tiers of [il.ints in a meadow 

 attention was drawn to the analogy between 

 this and that noticed in woodlands. .An even 

 more marked similarity exists between this 

 arr.ingement of crops and other plants in a 

 cornfield pure and sitnple and that observed 

 in woods. In this case the tree zone is repre- 

 sented bv the corn itself and those giants of 



the cornfield, such as Corn Cvxkle, Corn Sow 

 Thistle, &c. , which lower abovi- ihi-ir fellows. 

 This, of course, obtains only in the summer, 

 when the stalks are tall .and close set. They 

 provide an ampli' sh.ide lor the lower zones of 

 plants. 



Intermediate betwi'cn the tree /one and the 

 lowest zone (ground llora) is a middle zone, 

 comparable with the scrub of the woods, 

 which consists of such medium plants with a 

 widespread pyramid habit as Corn Buttercup, 

 or the later Fool's Parsley. These have 

 narrow leaves, adapted to growth amongst 

 close, erect plants such as cereals, an adapta- 

 tion not noticed definitely so far. Below come 

 the tr.iilers, dwarf plants, such as Scarlet 

 Pimpernel, and short erect plants (with line.ir 

 leaves) as Least Spurge. Rosette plants, as 

 Great Pl.intain, are found like I hi' Daisy 

 covering the surface. Then' are sonn- 

 climbers, too, as Corn Uindweed or Small 

 Convolulus. 



Denizen and Colonist Flora. The plants 

 which are found in cornfields are a motley 

 assemblage. .Some are pure aliens and of 

 merely sporadic occurrence, as L.irkspur, 

 Gold of Pleasure, V'enus's Looking (Jlass. 

 Charlock is a denizen. Corn Buttercup, Red 

 Poppy, Fumitory, Candytuft, Corn Cockle, 

 Venus's Comb, Corn Marigold, Cornflower, 

 Sn.ipdragon, Wild Oat, and O.irnel ;ire 

 colonists, which were defined by Watson to 

 be weeds of cultivated land, by roadsides or 

 about houses, only existing here ;is long as 

 human agency provides suitable conditions. 

 The denizen is apparently indigenous, but 

 li.ible to some suspicion of having been origi- 

 nally introduced by man, as the Hors<'-radish 

 and .\Ielilot. The alien plants are certainly 

 or very probably of foreign origin, though 

 now more or less distinctly naturalizi'd, .is 

 among trees the Sycamore aixl the Bird 

 Cherry. The casual was accidentally im- 

 ported or str.-iyed from cultivation, not truly 

 naturalized, and generally unable to m.iint.iin 

 Itself from year to year, as the C.ir.iway, .and 

 perh.-ips Larkspur. 



Native pl.inls .-ire believed to be truly abo- 

 riginal species, and amongst cornfield plants 

 perh.-ips the following are native: .Scarlet 

 Pimpernel (this grows also in woods .ind on 

 shingle). Corn (jromwell (Common (iromwell 

 grows by the roadside), Hemp Nettle, also a 

 wayside pl.-mt. 



The Limits of Cultivation. Several re.-isons 

 determini- the limits between which cultivated 

 plants will grow .and thrive. These in gener.d 

 are similar to those which regulate the distri- 

 bution of all plants, but they apply in a more 

 marked degree. For the cultivated cereals, 



