52 COMMON WEEDS 



be better to fork out the weeds and burn them. Fre- 

 quent hoeing in spring and summer will destroy 

 thousands of the young plants (Fig. 9). 



Corn or Field Buttercup (Ranunculus arvensis L.) is 

 an annual which is frequently extremely troublesome 

 in cornfields on all soils. It appears, however, to favour 



Photo, 1909. H. C. Long. 



FIG. 9. Seedlings of Creeping Buttercup (Ranunculus repens L.). 



the chalk formation, and is plentiful on the strong and 

 clayey wolds of North Lincolnshire, few being found 

 on the light soils ; and it is found in summer fallow 

 wheat and winter sown barley more than in spring 

 corn. 



The Corn Buttercup or Crowfoot has very variable 

 segmented and toothed leaves, and solitary stems i to 2 

 feet high. The flowers, opening between May and 

 July, are pale yellow, and about J inch across. In other 



