28 



COMMON WEEDS 



rule that the weeds referred to below indicate damp, 

 poor, and good soils respectively. 



Good Soils. 



Buttercups 



Certain Thistles 



Coltsfoot 



Stinging Nettles 



Groundsel 



Goosefoot or Fat Hen 



Cleavers 



Dandelion 



Chickweed 



Sow Thistle 



It is, however, not to be taken for granted that a 

 soil is poor merely because certain of the weeds in- 

 cluded in the above list are plentiful : the list given is 

 not arbitrary and absolute, but general and suggestive. 

 The character of the land is not only indicated in some 

 sense by the weeds which are present, but largely also 

 by their manner of growth. Large, strong Thistles, for 

 example, and large elegant Buttercups and Cowslips, 

 only grow on good land on poor land such plants 

 will generally be much smaller or stunted in growth. 



Spurrey, Corn Marigold, Sheep's Sorrel, Cornflower, 

 and small Bindweed are common on sandy soils ; 

 Burnet, Bladder Campion, Chicory, Viper's Bugloss, and 

 others are characteristic of calcareous soils ; while most 

 of the weeds enumerated above under " good soils " 

 are common on loamy soils. The soils on which the 

 various weeds grow will be dealt with in subsequent 

 chapters. 



