74 THE WEEDS OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 



In England it goes under the name of "Corn Woundwort," and it is 

 figured in Sowerby's "English Botany." Sowerby says: 



No uses or peculiar properties are ascribed to this herb, nor has it any beauty 

 to boast. It partakes of the disagreeable smell of others of the same genus. 

 As a weed it gives little trouble, though not infrequent in kitchen gardens on 

 a light soil, being easily eradicated when the first flowers appear. 



Here is a weed that has been known to Britons for centuries, and its 

 power to induce disease (staggers or any other) does not appear to have 

 been known. This is negative evidence which supports Mr. Stanley's views. 



The plant is probably harmless enough, though its nutritive value is not 

 likely to be high. I have already quoted a statement that it is good for 

 milch cows. 



The late Rev. Dr. Woolls said the same thing many years ago : 



Stachys arvensis is useful in the winter season as food for cows. Many 

 cartloads of it have been cut down for that purpose in the orange orchards near 

 Parramatta, but I am informed that, when the plants are old, they impart an 

 unpleasant flavour to the milk. (Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. x, 40.) 



The late Mr. Sylvester Browne, of Minembah, near Singleton, had a large 

 dairy, and was one of the most observant men I ever knew in regard to 

 forage plants. One day, after seeing his beautiful cows, I was walking over 

 his property and came across a large patch of Stachys arvensis. I said, 

 " Are you afraid of that, Mr. Browne ?" He said, " Certainly not. Cows are 

 fond of it and they yield good milk on it.'' 



The truth seems to be that germs allied to malarial fever are found in 

 similar localities to those in which Stachys arven-sis grows, and animals, 

 particularly horses, which are overdriven, or which otherwise have a predis- 

 position to this disease, catch it as they browse the plant. 



How to deal with it. It is a lover of moisture and is found in low-lying 

 places depressions, ditches, creek-sides, borders of swamps and of cultiva- 

 tion, &c. Endeavour should be made to drain the land in paddocks, to 

 permit the growth of useful grasses. 



Stachys palustris L., an allied and larger plant, has been found once on 

 the Richmond River, N.S.W., but little is known concerning it. 



Buffalo Burr (Solanum rostratum Dunal). 

 (SOLANACEJE: Potato Family.) 



Botanical '}Va'fri,p n . S olaniim,/^^ Latin name for a herb called " Night- 

 shade or Banewort,'' 'S'olarv&rri 'bfeing the botanical name for the plants 

 commonly ^npwfi: ft$[ ^ 'Nightshade * m Britain; rostratum, Latin, beaked, 

 in allusion } i & 3ie feeaViike- appearance of one of the stamens, as shown in 

 the drawing. 



Vernacular Name." Buffalo burr." Called "burr"* from the fruit, 

 which was " doubtless spread to some extent by. the buffaloes, as it has been 

 found along the buffalo wallows." " Beaked Horse-nettle " is another name. 

 The prickly Solanums are often called " Horse nettles " in the United 

 States, on the lucus a non lucendo principle; the meaning of the adjective 

 " beaked " has already been given. " Sand burr," because it prefers sandy 

 land; it is also called "Rocky Mountain Sand burr." Sometimes called 

 " Spiny Nightshade." 



Botanical Description. 



Annual, densely stellate-pubescent with 5 8-rayed hairs, usually copiously 

 armed with yellow subulate prickles ; stem erect, branched, 1 to 2$ feet high ; 



*"Bur" is the American spelling. 



