170 AGRICULTURE ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE 



form an exception to the rule that after the rains have 

 stopped the farmer in the arid region may consider the 

 weed fight over for the season. 



The poor man's weatherglass is so called because 

 the flowers close just before rain. This plant is some- 



FIG. 86. Seedling of mallow. About natural size. 



times called " poison chickweed," because it hurts 

 canary birds when eaten. 



Filaree. The filaree (alfilerilla or alfileria) also ger- 

 minates and grows during the dry months of summer, 

 and in this respect is like the Napa thistle. 



There are two kinds of filaree, one of which is eagerly 

 eaten by animals and makes excellent pasture. This is 

 the red-stemmed filaree. Many people do not distinguish 

 between it and the musky (or "stinking") filaree which 



