viii INTRODUCTION 



artists, who experienced some difficulty in obtaining 

 certain species for illustration, humorously suggested ! 

 The term, however, appears to fit the text. In the 

 third week of August of the past year, when examining 

 a field of standing wheat, I spent about ten minutes 

 collecting such weeds as were most easily found within 

 an area of perhaps little more than 100 square yards. 

 In this small plot were quickly gathered the following 

 twenty-nine species, eighteen of which were already 

 illustrated for the pages of this book : 



* 'Convolvulus arvemis Senecio vulgar is 



*Polygonum Convolvulus *Galium Aparine 

 *Polygonum Aviculare Vicia sativa 



*Rumex sp. * Matricaria inodora 



* Tussilago Farfara Plantago major 

 *Mentha arvensis Lychnis alba 

 *Sinapis arvensis ^Euphorbia exigua 

 *Sonchus arvensis *Alopecurus agrestis 



* Stellar ia media *Agrostis sp. 

 Papaver sp. Triticum repens 



* Ranunculus arvensis Poa annua 



* Viola sp. * Veronica sp. 

 Potentilla Anserina Myosotis sp. 

 sEthusa Cynapium Alchemilla arvensis 

 Scandix Pecten- Veneris 



Most of these species are troublesome weeds, and 

 it may be added that those marked with an asterisk 

 were abundant. 



In a wheat field in which the crop was already cut 

 were found thirteen species of weeds, several being 

 serious pests ; and in a field of peas was an almost 

 overwhelming quantity of Field Bindweed (Convolvulus 

 arvensis), Black Bindweed (Polygonum Convolvulus), and 

 Perennial Sow Thistle (Sonchns arvensis), besides many 

 other weeds. 



These notes will serve to show that, unless these 



