165 
rendered the probability of any great spread over the State exceedingly 
slight. The plant should, however, be carefully watched, although at 
present not of sufficiently general distribution to take rank among the 
dangerous weeds of the State. 
Erigeron annuus Pers., white top, which had apparently been practi- 
cally eliminated from the list of weeds of the State, has during the past 
two years appeared in great abundance throughout the State. In many 
cases it has entirely taken meadows in which it had been practically un- 
known for years. Reports of its occurrence came to me from a large 
number of counties with requests for an explanation of its sudden reap- 
pearance. No satisfactory explanation has as yet suggested itself, but as 
the plant yields readily to careful cultivation it may be considered as an- 
noying rather than dangerous. 
Rumezx acetosella L., field or sheep sorrel, while not a conspicuous 
landscape feature is in many respects to be considered the most danger- 
ous weed in the State. It spreads rapidly and because of its early leafing 
and habit of growth supplants the grass and other desirable forms. It 
sets root deeply and resists successfully all of the ordinary means of weed 
eradication. Apparently so long as the smallest portion of the root is 
left in the ground there is danger ahead. I have records of many cases 
in which the farmer has given up what seems a hopeless contest and has 
abandoned his fields. 
In the light of to-day, the introduction of new weeds is not to be 
greatly feared. The persistence of our indigenous forms is, however, 
quite a different matter. The presence of these noxious weeds is not 
merely a constant disgrace, but also a constant menace. The passage 
and enforcement of wisely devised weed laws would prove of incalculable 
benefit to the State, and it should be the part of botanists to urge the 
passage of rational and workable laws upon this subject. 
? 
EXPERIMENTS IN GERMINATION OF Composites. By STANLEY COULTER. 
[Abstract. ] 
A report upon one hundred experiments in the germination of com- 
posites, confirming positions taken in a paper presented to the Academy 
last year. These positions were as follows: 
1. The achenes of composites show a low germination percentage. 
