126 THE WEEDS OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 



It would be interesting for dwellers in the country to observe whether the 

 Prickly Lettuce, transferred to the Antipodes, still retains the property 

 of causing the plane of its leaves to be north and south. 



Fodder or Other Uses. Mr. M. W. Thompson says, " Cattle and horses are 

 very fond of it." Other correspondents have stated that stock nip at it; 

 but, as a rule, very little is known about it in New South Wales, and 

 senders always express their ignorance concerning it. In Sowerby's " British 

 Flora " it is described as " a bitter, acrid, and foetid weed." It cannot be 

 specially nutritious, though it is likely enough that stock eat it with other' 

 food. 



If one turns to Watt's " Dictionary of the Economic Products of India," 

 interesting notes will be found as to the economic value, not only of the 

 Prickly Lettuce, but also of the Common Lettuce. For example, the seeds 

 yield a clear, sweet, transparent oil, while the dried juice (lactuarium) has 

 medicinal properties. 



How to get rid of it. 



While this weed cannot now be exterminated, it may yet be subdued. If 

 prevented from seeding, in most places, it will decrease in numbers and 

 aggressiveness. When mown, the plants stool freely, and so must either be cut 

 with hoe or pulled to prevent altogether the ripening of seeds. Community of 

 effort will be most effectual in limiting its spread. Ohio Bulletin, 83. 



Prevention of seeding is the remedy. Wyoming Bulletin, 31. 



A most vigorous but insidious foe. Wyoming Bulletin, 31. 



The plant has many of the qualities of a successful intruder, as well as an 

 uncompromisingly weedy appearance. . . . Where the top is injured, sprouts 

 are sent out from the base of the stem in a very troublesome manner. 

 Indiana Bulletin, 52. In Indiana its extermination is no longer considered 

 a possibility. 



" A most pernicious weed, a single average plant has been found to bear more 

 than 8,000 seeds." Farmers' Bulletin, 28, Dept. of Agric., U.S.A. 



I look upon it as a plant whose room is better than its company. In New 

 South Wales it attains a height of 6 or 7 feet. It spreads rapidly, not 

 merely by seed, but also vegetatively, when bruised or cut. So that if hoed 

 out this should be done below the ground surface. 



Unlike most annual weeds, the prickly lettuce is very troublesome in meadows 

 and permanent pastures. Clover intended for a seed crop is often entirely 

 ruined. Oats and other spring grain crops suffer more or less damage. 



Sheep, and sometimes cattle, will eat the young prickly lettuce, and in some 

 localities their services have been found very effective in keeping it down, 

 specially in recently cleared land where thorough cultivation is impossible. 

 Repeatedly mowing the plants as they first begin to blossom will prevent seeding 

 and eventually subdue them. Thorough cultivation with a hoed crop, by means 

 of which the seed in the soil may be induced to germinate, will be found most 

 effective. The first ploughing should be shallow, so as not to bury the seeds 

 too deep. Under no circumstances should the mature seed-bearing plants be 

 ploughed under, as that would only fill the soil with seeds buried at different 

 depths to be brought under conditions favourable for germination at intervals 

 for several years. Mature plants should be mowed and burned before ploughing. 

 The seed appears as an impurity in clover, millet, and the heavier grass seeds, 

 and the plant is doubtless most frequently introduced by this means. As the 

 seed may be carried a long distance by the wind, the plants must be cleared 

 out of fence rows, waste land, and road-sides. Farmers' Bulletin, 28, U.S. 

 Dept. Agric. 



Where Found. It is a native of Europe (doubtfully of Great Britain) 

 and Asia Minor, but it has now spread to many parts of the world. More 

 definite localities may be found in De Candolle's " Origin of Cultivated 



