WEEDS 



in cotton or wool, and when once they seize their victim, 

 every movement serves to drive them more firmly in. We 

 would gladly rid ourselves of this most troublesome 

 foreigner, but it seems impossible. The best way to fight 

 it seems to be by encouraging its natural enemy, another 

 weedy but less objectionable grass, known as the softbrome 

 grass. This latter grass has some value as a pasture plant, 

 and so have some other introduced grasses commonly classed 

 as weeds. This is true of the wild oats, which, like the 

 filaree, are so widespread in California that many people 

 refuse to believe them foreigners at all. 



In countries of greater rainfall the most troublesome 

 grasses are usually those with perennial stems, which, 

 lying on or just beneath the soil, can root at every joint. 

 We have native grasses of this sort that infest our moist, 

 alkali lands, but the one most troublesome in cultivation is 

 again a foreigner, the Bermuda grass. When once this 

 grass gains a foothold in lawns or other soil kept moist by 

 irrigation, the most constant effort must be made to keep it 

 within bounds. 



The mustard is another immigrant whose success 

 should advertise the climate of California. We have already 

 noticed its very rapid and vigorous growth, and its multi- 

 tudes of seeds. Its prevalence in California means, of 

 course, the loss of thousands of dollars to grain growers 

 every year. 



Another foreigner that does mischief in grain and 

 pasture lands is the yellow Melilot, sometimes called bitter 

 clover, No. i, Fig. 72. It requires a rather moist, loose soil, 

 so it is in the central and northern parts of the state that it 

 is most troublesome in grain fields. In the south it selects 

 choice places, along irrigating ditches and streams, or where 

 there is moist subsoil. It is useless for pasturage, as when 

 it is cut with grain its pronounced flavor taints hay and 

 even affects wheat and flour. 



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