46 THE WEEDS OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 



Botanical Description. 



It is an erect annual, about 2 feet high, perfectly smooth, without any hairs, 

 and of a rather pale-green colour. Leaves opposite, lanceolate, about 3 inches 

 long, sessile with a broad base, and the opposite pairs are united at the base. 

 The flowers, which are terminal in a loose bunch on long stalks, are pink, about 

 J-inch in diameter, but the size of the flower varies considerably. Calyx 

 5-angled, shortly 5-lobed at the top, much enlarged after flowering. Petals 5, 

 ^marginate at the top. The plant is best distinguished by the five very prom- 

 inent angles of the calyx. Seeds spherical, tuberculate, black when fully ripe. 



Fodder or Other Uses. I cannot find that, except by accident, stock eat 

 this plant at any time, and hence it lives its life unchecked unless man takes 

 it in hand. In India, that country in which a surprising amount of infor- 

 mation has been gathered together in regard to the uses and drawbacks 

 of the native vegetation, some notes are available in regard to this plant also, 

 and I extract some of them from the Dictionary of Economic Plants of India 

 (Watt). 



The properties of this plant are stated to be in every respect identical with 

 those of S. officinalis, the soap-wort (O'Shaughnessy). Preparations of this 

 plant have emulsifying properties on account of the saponin it contains. It 

 does not appear generally to have assigned to it the saponaceous properties 

 which its congener enjoys, but Murray mentions that in Sina the mucila- 

 ginous sap is used by the natives in place of soap for washing clothes. The 

 writer of the dictionary recently questioned the cultivators in the Dhami 

 State, Simla, as to the properties of the Sapon<iria which was found as a 

 troublesome weed in their wheat-fields. They said that it ofien proved 

 poisonous to young cattle, but that older animals would not eat it. They 

 were ignorant of its saponaceous properties. 



I may say I have not heard of it being suspected as a poison-plant in this 

 State. 



How to get rid of it. Prevention is better than cure and it is best to buy 

 clean wheat. The up-to-date farmer will screen his own wheat wherever the 

 seed-wheat comes from, and 'Carefully burn any suspected screenings. And 

 if it should unfortunately make its appearance it should be hoed out or 

 hand-pulled before it seeds. The road sides and the fences should also be 

 carefully watched. I make no recommendation in regard to many weeds, 

 but it is competent for any farmer to eradicate this particular pest unless 

 he systematically neglects it for a year or two. 



Following is what some American farmers say of it : " This is at present 

 the worst weed in grain-fields. Springing up with the wheat the latter is 

 crowded out, shaded out, and robbed of the food it might otherwise get from 

 the soil. A field well seeded to cockle as well as wheat, is practically beyond 

 redemption.'' 



Where Found. It is a native of Europe, Asia Minor, India, Thibet, 

 Siberia, &c., but not England, though found there in corn-fields. It has 

 been tolerated as a pretty plant, and is, indeed, cultivated in gardens, and 



