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306 REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE, 
Austin Pots, Galesburgh, Mich. : . MR i 
Perhaps not over 20 per cent. of the clover grown here is of the mammoth variety. on 
It does not seed as well as the common clover. ( anived 
L. H. Bursley, Jenisonville, Mich.: 4 ig} : 
I do not find it as good for hay as the common red clover; the stalk is 50 large — a 
that stock will not eat them at all. For pasture it is better than the small variety: 
It does not require pasturing in spring in order to produce a crop of seed. Fig Ne 
James Hendricks, Albany, N. Y.: RES 
About twenty years ago there was treble the quantity sown in this part of Albany a 
County that there is at present; now nearly all our farmers sow the medium clover 
with timothy. nas 
Prof. F. A. Gully, Agricultural College, Miss. : 
\ 
On good land with us it grows rank, and the long stems fall down and matonthe  _ 
ground, and if we happen to have wet weather the lower leaves and parts of the 
stalk will begin to decay before the plant is in full bloom. The second crop ripens 
seed, but to what extent | can not say. 1 consider the common red clover more 
desirable here, although it may not yield as well. iT er 
’ 
WEEDS OF AGRICULTURE. a : 
The following account of the more troublesome weeds is continued ~~ 
from the report of last year: 
PURSLANE (Portulaca oleracea). ee 
A low prostrate annual, common in cultivated grounds, with thick, 
fleshy, obovate leaves, about an inch in length, and very smooth, 
The flowers are minute and sessile at the ends of the branches and 
in the axils of the leaves, opening only in the morning sun; the five 
or six petals are pale yellow, the stamens number seven to ten and 
twelve, and the capsule or seed vessel is oval, and opens by the rupt- 
ure of a transverse seam near the middle. This introduced weed is 
SRN es known inthis country by the nameof Purslane or “*Pus-  ~ 
ey.’ ee 
In the cooler climate of England it is not considered a weed, and 
is used to some extent as a pot-herb. It does not start into growth 
until the season is well advanced, in the Northern States about July. 
It is most troublesome in garden crops, such as onions, and does 
comparatively little harm in such crops as corn and potatoes, which’ ~ 
shade the ground and permit horse cultivation. lt is most prevalent °— 
on sandy soils. Its troublesomeness results mainly from its pro- — 
lificacy and rapid maturity, and from the fact that it will retain its ~ 
vitality and mature its seed after being detached from the soil. Tf ~ 
the land is repeatedly cultivated before the plant exceeds aninchin 
height it is easily kept down, but if allowed to become large itis al-  ~ 
most certain to ripen its seed. After garden soil has become stocked 
with the seed it will often be found best to cultivate the land in some _ 
field crop for two or three years, until it is freed from the weed, and _ 
grow the garden crops upon land which has not yet become infested. © 
The amount of seed produced may be judged from the fact that 
1,250,000 seeds have been counted ona single plant. The greatest . 
injury from this weed arises from the fact that it grows rapidly and» 
ripens its seed after cultivation of the crops has usually ceased. 
(Plate VI.) te 
