106 THE WEEDS OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 



" From what I have said you will observe that no remedial measure of 

 the ' press-the-button ' order is applicable in this case." 



Economic Aspects of Senecio. Sowerby wrote of Groundsel over a cen- 

 tury ago : " It is annual, and flowers almost all the year round. The 

 flower-buds and young tops are the food of many small birds, and are given 

 to canary-birds and others in a state of confinement." This is no unim- 

 portant use, for the welfare of small cage-birds affords great pleasure to- 

 many people. 



We are also interested in two introduced species one a yellow flowering 

 ivy-leaved creeper (Senecio scandens), which has made itself very much at 

 home in many parts of coastal New South Wales, not far from the sea, and 

 which is often called " Cape Ivy " ; it comes from the Cape of Good Hope, 

 but it is not a true ivy, of course. 



The other is the Ragwort (S. Jacobcea], which is common in Victoria, but so- 

 far as I know, it has not been officially recorded as having made its appearance 

 in New South Wales, although I am perfectly certain it is in this State. 



In the Cape of Good Hope species of Senecio are /recorded as having 

 induced cirrhosis of the liver in stock, and in New Zealand 8. Jacobcea is 

 blamed for the similar and fatal complaint amongst horses known as 

 " Winton disease." 



It will thus be seen that at least one species of Senecio has fallen under 

 suspicion, and, bearing in mind the fact that the properties of one species 

 of a genus are often shared more or less by other species, it is very possible 

 that our Groundsel contains some principle worthy of investigation. 



In the Agricultural Gazette (October, 1898), I published the following 

 paragraph : 



An extract is prepared from the plant and roots of the European Senecio 

 vulguris (Common Groundsel), which is used medicinally in some ailments 

 peculiar to women. See Dalch and Heim (Nouv. remedes, 1896, pp. 409 and 

 697), Therap. Monatshefte, 1897, p. 275; also Merck's Ann. Report, 1897, p. 05. 



Our native species of Senecio are numerous and widely diffused; here is a 

 suggested line of research for some of our medical practitioners. 



Now, I do not wish to suggest that there is anything deadly lurking in 

 the humble Groundsel, but I desire to emphasise the point that the examina- 

 tion of plants by chemical methods is even yet in its infancy, and I fully 

 believe the plants all around us are coyly smiling at us, and that many of 

 them contain active principles of great interest and perhaps of economic 

 value; but the said principles can only be wooed and won by the chemist, 

 As regards our plants, we are walking over nuggets, which, until we use our 

 pick, will remain where they are. 



I know no branch of science that is more likely to secure interesting, and 

 perhaps economically valuable, and possibly, sensational results, than that 

 of the chemist. For some lines of research it would be desirable that he 

 should have pharmaceutical training, and he should be in close co-operation 

 with the physiologist. 



Black or Spear Thistle (Carduus lanceolatus L ). 



(COMPOSITE : Daisy Family.) 



Other Vernacular Names. Its usual name in England is Spear Thistle, 

 In the United States it is called " Boar Thistle/' or " Purple Thistle." In 

 Canada it goes under the name of the " Bull Thistle." In New South Wales 

 it is often known as " Green Thistle," and, by reason of its comparatively 

 dark colour, " Black Thistle." 



