ii4 WEEDS OF FARM LAND 



in some way or other this influences the milk, but this again is 

 highly improbable. It is far more likely that the direct taint is 

 imparted to the milk in some physiological manner not well 

 understood, and possibly the taint is carried in the fat globules 

 more readily than in the rest of the milk. One dairy farmer 

 known to the author has fed cows on "garlic wheat " or even on 

 " garlic with wheat in it " and had no suspicion of trouble nor 

 complaints of the milk being tainted. In American experi- 

 ments l it has been found that increasing the length of time 

 between feeding on the onion and the hour of milking reduced 

 the unpleasant odour and flavour. There is only a slight odour 

 and flavour in milk when cows are kept off onion infested pas- 

 tures for four hours before milking and this slight flavour is said 

 to disappear almost entirely when the milk stands for four hours. 

 Even if this be so it is wiser to keep milking cows out of fields 

 known to be infested with garlic during the growing period of 

 the plant in spring and early summer. There is an idea among 

 graziers that store beasts and cattle may safely be run in these 

 fields, the garlic often acting as a mild tonic or aperient, but 

 that fattening sheep and cattle should be kept away lest their 

 flesh become tainted. 



Crow garlic is occasionally a pest on arable land, and as 

 the aerial bulblets are about the same size as wheat grains it 

 is difficult to separate the two, and the value of the wheat is 

 thereby depreciated. Bread made from garlicky flour, especi- 

 ally if eaten warm, has a pronounced odour and flavour, and 

 in the United States it is estimated that the money loss from 

 wild onion runs into millions of dollars yearly. 2 



Ramsons is closely allied to the crow garlic and sometimes 

 causes similar trouble. It is readily distinguished by its thin, 

 flat spreading leaves, and when it is abundant in the shady 

 places it prefers the milk of cows that gain access to it becomes 

 badly tainted, and it is said that the flavour is strongly ac- 

 centuated if the milk is scalded. 



Darnel (Lolium temulentuin) is possibly the " tares " of 

 Scripture, and its harmful nature has been known for centuries. 

 It sometimes grows freely among wheat ; the seed being 

 nearly as large as wheat it is difficult to separate the two, with 

 the result that the darnel discolours the flour and gives a dis- 

 agreeable taste to the bread. Under some circumstances the 



H. R. (1918)," Wild Onion, Method of Eradication," p. n, C7.S.4-, 

 Depart, of Agric., Farmer's Bull, 610, 

 2 /^.,p. 3. 



