farmers and all people of taste. They also interfere with the use of 

 mowers, binders, and other implements in taking off crops. 



INTRODUCTION AND SPREAD OF WEEDS. 



Most of the injurious weeds found in this Province have come directly 

 or indirectly from other countries. They are brought in and conveyed 

 from field to field and farm to farm in various ways : 



1. By the wind. Seeds which are carried by the wind usually have 

 tufts of fine silky hair attached to them. Such are the seeds of the Dande- 

 lion, Canada Thistle, Sow Thistle (annual and perennial), Willow Herb, and 

 Cotton Grass. These and similar seeds are wafted to and fro, till they 

 become attached to the soil and commence to grow. In some cases, as in 

 the Dock and Wild Parsnip, the seeds are winged ; in others, the pod 

 containing the seed has flat and extended edges, exposing much surface 

 to the wind. The Penny Cress is an example of the latter. 



Some weeds are rolled along the ground by the wind. To this class 

 belong the Russian Thistle and the Tumbling weed of the North- West. 

 When these weeds ripen, they break off close to the ground ; and being 

 light, they are easily carried by the wind, especially on an open prairie, 

 and the seeds drop out as the weed rolls from place to place. 



An examination of snow drifts in Dakota, a few years ago, showed 

 the presence of many weed seeds. Thirty-two seeds of nine species were 

 were found in two square feet of a drift. In the same place it was 

 observed that a twenty-five mile wind carried wheat seed a distance of 

 thirty rods in a minute. 



Seeds which become sticky when wet often adhere to leaves, and go 

 wherever the leaves are carried by the wind. This is true of the Plantain. 



2. By water. Some seeds, especially those of aquatic plants, are 

 distributed by water. Darwin maintained that many seeds, dropping 

 into the sea or being washed in from the shore, might be carried nearly a 

 thousand miles by the movements of the water without injuring their 

 vitality. Seeds which float on the surface of water are carried to and 

 fro by the wind till they find a lodgment and begin to grow ; and many, 

 of various kinds, are carried from high to low ground and distributed far 

 and near by the rills and streams which flow from mountain, hill, and 

 upland after heavy rains and spring thaws. The common Speedwell and 

 Ragweed are often distributed in this way. 



3. By birds and other animals. Seeds are distributed by animals 

 in a variety of ways. " It is estimated that about ten per cent, of all 

 flowering plants possess seeds which are dispersed by means of barbed or 

 cleaved processes." By these barbs or processes the seeds cling to the 

 feathers of birds and the hairy coats of animals, and in this way are car- 

 ried from place to place. To this class belong the Bur, Burdock, Hound's 

 Tongue, Bedstraw, Cockle, and such like. And the seeds of some plants, 



