134 



WEEDS OF FARM LAND 



and even when it flourishes well in the corner of the fields, 

 hedgerows, etc., it rarely migrates among the crops. It is, 

 however, difficult to pass judgment in this respect, as the weed 

 is so big and so obnoxious that when it does appear it is usually 

 eliminated with the greatest possible speed by a good farmer. 



B. Weeds Specially Associated with Heavy Land. 



(a) Plants Characteristic of Heavy Land (Clay and Heavy 

 Lo.ims). There is no weed so exclusively associated with clay 

 and heavy loam that it may be described as " symptomatic," 

 but a very few are so much more often seen on such. soils than 

 on any other that perhaps they may fairly be called "charac- 

 teristic ". None of the five weeds classified thus are of frequent 

 occurrence, as naturally the close association of a plant with 

 a particular type of soil considerably limits its distribution. 



TABLE IV. WEEDS CHARACTERISTIC OF HEAVY LAND (CLAY AND 



HEAVY LOAMS). 



Stinking mayweed (Anthemis cotula), although so seldom 

 seen, is apparently closely associated with clay, on which it 

 is even sometimes dominant. When it does occur on other 

 soils very little of it is present as a rule, and it is often in 

 such mere traces as to be scarce. 



Cut-leaved geranium (Geranium dissectum} is equally at 

 home on clay and heavy loam, but curiously enough it has 

 been seen to reach a position of sub-dominance on a light loam, 

 at Flitwick (Beds). It does not seem to occur on chalk. 



Hoary plantain (Plantago media) has a most decided pre- 

 ference for clay soil, and it is usually regarded by farmers as 

 a sign that the land is in good heart. It is never present in 

 any quantity, and is seldom seen on arable land. 



