62 COMMON WEEDS 



cake manufacturers, finally appearing as impurities in 

 rape and other " cakes." 



Wild Radish, Runch (Raphanus Raphanistrum L.), also 

 known as White Charlock, or Jointed Charlock, re- 

 sembles 5. arvensis in habit. It is a stout erect or 

 spreading annual, somewhat hairy, with large lyrate, 

 coarsely toothed leaves, white- or straw-coloured flowers 

 f inch in diameter, and pods i to 3 inches long. This 

 weed flowers between May and September. It should 

 be dealt with as described above in the case of Char- 

 lock, but it is essential to spray the young plants. 



"During September (1907) the Board received from 

 Wolverhampton specimens of two cruciferous weeds 

 resembling White Charlock (Raphanus Raphanistrum L.). 

 They were identified as Raphanus microcarpus Willk. and 

 R. sativus L., var. oleifer DC. The former is not very 

 common in this country, while the latter is a rare 

 casual. As they were growing freely amongst corn, the 

 weeds were sprayed early with strong, pure, copper 

 sulphate solution, which, however, had no effect on 

 them whatever. They are not likely to prove very 

 troublesome, but where they come up thickly the hoe 

 should be freely used in a root crop, while in corn 

 crops they should be hoed, or " topped," with a scythe 

 when the plants are flowering. Some plants are very 

 bulky, consisting of as many as twenty stems, while 

 they are from 2 feet to 3 feet high. The introduction 

 of a potato crop into the rotation two or three years 

 after a root crop often clears land of Charlock, and this 

 plan might be tried with the species under considera- 

 tion. Seeding should be prevented, even if hand pulling 

 must be resorted to, while any grain sown should be 

 entirely free from the seeds." 1 



Wild forms of Brassica allied to the turnip, rape or 



1 Jour. Bd. Agi'ic.) February, 1908. 



