IMPROVEMENT OF GRASS LAND 173 



perennial common on calcareous soils, both in grass 

 and arable land. In grass land it must be combated, 

 like so many other weeds of pastures, by judicious 

 manuring. 



Devil's Bit (S. succisa L.) is a common weed of 

 meadows and pastures. The blue or purplish flowers 

 are arranged in terminal button-shaped heads. The 

 stems are unbranched, i to 3 feet high, with few or 

 no leaves upon them. Where this plant is common, 

 judicious manuring should be practised. 



COMPOSITE 



This order furnishes a larger number of weeds to 

 both arable and grass land than any other, perhaps for 

 the reason that it includes about one-tenth of all known 

 flowering plants, many of which are spread by wind- 

 borne, parachute-like " seeds." 



The Burdock (Arctium Lappa L.) is an erect branched 

 biennial, with stout stem, often 3 to 4 feet high, and 

 large alternate, stalked, heart-shaped and pointed leaves, 

 usually very cottony beneath, and frequently a foot 

 long. The roots are strong and deep seated. The 

 small purple flowers appear in July and August, 

 grouped together into globose heads each about i 

 inch in diameter ; the heads have stiff, spiny, hooked 

 bracts, and readily adhere to the clothes of man or the 

 fur and hair of animals, thus securing their distribution. 

 The name Arctium is derived from the Greek arktos, a 

 bear, from the rough heads or " burs." The plant 

 grows chiefly in waste places, by hedges and ditches, 

 and in damp grass land on calcareous and clay soils. 



The Burdock (Fig. 47) is a biennial spread by 

 seeds, and should therefore be attacked by regular 

 cutting early in the summer as soon as the plants begin 



