86 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



the lust are by far the most abundant, but the Sinapis 

 arvetisis, the plant we here figure, is the true charlock, and 

 the most noxious of the three. The appreciation in which 

 it is held may be seen in the " cornfields, too frequent," 

 of Hooker, and the " one of the most abundant weeds of 

 cultivation throug-h Europe, and but too common all over 

 Britain/' of Bentham. Some of the earlier blossoms may 

 be found towards the end of May, but June is the month 

 in which ordinarily it is most abundant, though in some 

 localities specimens may be found in July. Linnaeus 

 and others of his time not only considered that it was 

 injurious to the growing corn, but they had an idea, too, 

 that its seeds would get amongst the grain and impart 

 some hurtful effect to the flour ; there would appear to be, 

 however, no proof of this : on the other hand, the plant is 

 a favourite with bees, and this means a plentiful yield of 

 honey to their despoilers, and the whole plant, when 

 young, is often eaten by agricultural labourers, and forms 

 a by no means bad substitute for other vegetables. 



The charlock varies very much in appearance in different 

 plants and under varying conditions of growth ; when 

 found amongst the standing corn it is taller and less 

 branched than when growing on roadside rubbish ; it varies 

 too in degrees of hairiness, and the stems are sometimes 

 green, sometimes purple or crimson, but the flowers do not 

 seem subject to any variation of tint. The plant is an 

 annual, and may therefore be comparatively easily eradi- 

 cated if it be pulled up before seediug-time ; hence the 

 farmers are often put to a considerable expense in up- 

 rooting it from the growing crops. 



The plant is from one to two feet high, the stems 

 upright, branching, grooved, and clothed often with short 



