336 



OTHER FLOWERING PLANTS 



plants are beneficial to man, and every farmer and gardener 

 has to struggle with the weeds. 1 Some of the members 



of the composite family, 

 like the goldenrod and 

 daisy, lend a charm to 

 the fields, and many 

 people dislike to think 

 of them as obnoxious 

 plants. But they pre- 

 vent the grass from 

 growing, and cattle will 

 not eat them either in 

 the winter or in the 

 summer, so that they are 

 a nuisance to the farmer. 

 A weed, then, may be 

 defined as a plant which 

 interferes with the 

 growth of some useful 

 plant. Weeds are suc- 

 Figure 362. — Canada Thistle. cessful in growing and 



in living, because they 

 have strong roots, produce many seeds, and have numer- 

 ous devices for distributing their seeds. 



SUMMARY 



The flowering plants are the most highly developed of 

 all the plants and bear an intimate relation to mankind. 

 The many grasses and cereals furnish, animals and man 

 with much of their food. The cultivation of these plants 

 has aided the development of civilization. 



1 Thompson, "Distribution of Weeds by Means of Farm Seeds." School 

 Science and Mathematics, December, 1915, page 770. Georgia, A Book of 

 Weeds- 



