WEEDS OF ARABLE LAND 107 



opening in June and July, are in terminal curved 

 clusters. This weed occurs chiefly in cornfields and 

 waste places, especially on light soils. Should it prove 

 troublesome, hoeing and hand pulling will reduce it, as 

 will surface cultivation in spring. 



Corn Gromwell (Lithospermum arvense L.), or Grey 

 Millet, is a small annual i to ij feet high, with a short 

 stem, narrow, somewhat lanceolate hairy leaves, and 

 short terminal clusters of small creamy-white flowers, 

 which open from May to July. L. arvense is most fre- 

 quent in cornfields and waste places ; it can be reduced 

 by the use of hoed crops, surface cultivation in spring, 

 and by drilling spring corn in place of autumn grain. 



Field Forget-me-not (Myosotis arvensis Hoffm.), or 

 Scorpion Grass, is an annual or biennial weed which 

 grows freely on arable land. It is 6 to 18 inches high, 

 and rough, with spreading hairs ; the lower leaves are 

 small, oblong and stalked, and the upper are sessile ; 

 and the small, pale blue flowers, only \ inch in 

 diameter, are on long slender stalks in terminal loose 

 clusters. The flowers may be found from June to 

 August. This is perhaps the commonest of the Forget- 

 me-nots. 



Parti-coloured Scorpion Grass (Myosotis versicolor 

 Reich.) is under a foot high, much branched and leafy 

 below, with linear-oblong sessile leaves and slender 

 leafless stalks. It bears lengthened clusters of minute 

 flowers, which are yellow at first and afterwards pale 

 blue. It is an annual, and flowering occurs from April 

 to June. It is found on arable land on all soils. 



The seeds of the Forget-me-not, especially those of 

 M. arvensisj occur as an impurity in clover and grass 

 seed samples. These plants may be eradicated by the 

 growth of hoed crops, and by surface cultivation in 

 the spring months. 



