CORMII-I.DS 



-.?5 



so is Crecpiiit; Spccdwi'll, which ijiows u>ii;illy 

 in meailows. 



Effect of Dressing, &c. — A (.omrirld or allied 

 cultivali-d Had is unique annnitjsl biilanical 

 hahilals in the fact thai llu- soil is cnriciu'd 

 each year with some form of niaiiurt- or 

 drcssinj"-. Normally no other type of veijela- 

 lion receives the same type of dressing;. 

 Humus acciniiulates in a wood or hedj^e, and 

 as a tliin layer in meadows, whilst peat and 

 humus (thick) play a jjreat part in moors, bogs, 

 and heaths. But though these are organic 

 soil renewers, they do not resemble in effect 

 the artilicial dressings in the conilield. 



The direct result of such manuring is to 

 cause the plants (weeds included) in a cornlield 

 to present generally a robust, well-matured 

 appearance. They are usually luxuriant and 

 in marked contrast to similar or allied species 

 growing elsewhere. The peat or humus- 

 loving plants are not represented as a whole 

 in the corntield flora, and most of them are 

 fond of clav, sand, or lime, and these soils are 

 improved by the .^ddition of manure in one 

 form or another. .\t the same time there are 

 some plants that dislike dressing, and will not 

 grow under such conditions. The discovery 

 of the requirements of plants in this respect 

 will be an object lor inquiry here also. 



Effect of the Soil.— The conditions required 

 lor the elTective growth of a cereal crop are 

 light but fertile soils, which are dry and warm. 

 The soils that furnish these conditions are 

 mainly sandy loams, clayey loams, and cal- 

 careous soils. Rocky, too sandy, or siliceous 

 soils do not give a deep or rich soil. Heavy 

 clays are also unsuitable. Marls are, however, 

 well suited for cereals. 



These conditions are not always found in 

 the soil itself without cultivation or improve- 

 ment, hence the plants that would naturally 

 come up in a cornfield :ire not always to be 

 found on the soil, but are replaced by others, 

 that may be introduced from elsewhere. But 

 in some cases the weeds that are common to 

 the district are able to adapt themselves to the 

 altered conditions, and where a sandy soil is 

 improved by the addition of lime, plants that 

 prefer the former may still linger, and when- 

 the latter is the principal natural soil the 

 addition of loam may not affect the lime-loving 

 plants. 



.■\s a rule, the cornfield plants are those that 

 grow naturally upon a sandy soil or a sandy 

 loam. .A few such, as the Hemp Nettle, are 

 lovers of clay as well. .\ fair proportion are 

 characteristic of limestone or chalk areas, such 

 as Larkspur, Candytuft, Flax, Venus's Look- 

 ing Glass, Small Snapdragon. Some are 

 able to subsist on either, as the Red Poppy, 



Shepherd's Needle, Fool's Parsley, Lamb's 

 Lettuce, t'ornflower, and Blue Sherardia. 



Dry-soil Types. VUr preponderanci' of the 

 sand pl.inl-, in cornfields owing In the con- 

 ditions required by cereals, such as lightness 

 and dryness of soils, is ii well-marked feature, 

 which is explained by the processes to which a 

 cornfield is subji-cled in fitting it for cultivation. 

 The transition from tin- damp conditions of 

 the woodland to those of a meadow is less 

 great than from tho.se of a me.-idow to those of 

 a cornfield. It is true that thi- cutting ilown 

 of trees has a great elTect upon .a district in 

 making it as a rule much drier, and ii meadow 

 also has usually been dr.iined before it is used 

 for pasturage, &c. 



In a cornfield, however, these conditions 

 have been alrea<ly fulfilled before a further 

 stage, that of cultivation and better drain.ige, 

 with yearly ploughing, is attained. These 

 Last factors tend to make the soil \<Ty much 

 drier, and owing to this a cornfield is the 

 extreme stage tow.irds dry-soil conditions, 

 which in a meadow are not nearly so well 

 marked. The shielding of the lowest zone of 

 plants amid the corn in mid and Liter summer 

 does not prevent the free access of the sun to 

 the soil and the rapid evaporation of the 

 surface moisture. 



Consequently, as would be expi'Cted from 

 the natural predilection of the great majoiily 

 of tlie plants for sandy soils, the plants in a 

 cornfield are mainly xerophilous or dry-soil 

 types. There are, in fact, few if any of them, 

 except perhaps Corn Sow Thistle and .Mouse- 

 tail, th.il will grow in .i moist habitat. White 

 Campion is inlermediate in this respect. 



Methods of Survey.— The mode of examina- 

 tion of a cornfield flora differs very little from 

 that of a meadow or pasture, except that the 

 cereal itself supplies the domin.int plant. 



Proceeding to examine the cultivated .-ire.i 

 first of all, it mav be pointed out that (irasses 

 have been artificially eliminated, and therefore 

 the best means of studying the flora is to take 

 each tier or zone by itself, and to eslim.ite the 

 dominance of the .several plants that make up 

 each zone. In some fields Creeping Thistle 

 will be dominant in the zone corresponding to 

 the tree zone, with Corn Sow Thistle propor- 

 tionally next so. 



In the intermediate zone, if the Cieeping 

 Thistle does not occupy this, we may have 

 Corn Marigold. Charlock .and Corn Butter- 

 cup may come next. In tin- ground flora Ihe 

 dominant plant may be Ivy-le.ived S[>eedwell, 

 e.-irly in the ve.ir, and .Scarlet Pimpernel later. 



.Mousi-tail grows spor.idic.illy in the furrows 

 rallier than in l.irge societies. The vegetation 

 of the borders, especially the cornfield pl.inls, 



