FARM WEEDS OF CANADA. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



The annual losses due to the occurrence of pernicious 

 weeds upon farm lands, although acknowledged in a general 

 way, are far greater than is realized. These losses can be appre- 

 ciably lessened, however, by treatment based upon an accurate 

 knowledge of the nature of each weed. 



Most farmers give little critical attention to the weeds 

 growing among their crops. Some think that, because many 

 of these plants are unfamiliar, the exact recognition of all of 

 them is impossible. This, however, is not the case, and, as the 

 different kinds vary greatly in their power of robbing the farmer, 

 it is certainly advisable that more attention should be given 

 to weed pests. Although several hundred kinds of plants grow 

 wild in almost every locality, and many of these may appear 

 among cultivated crops, comparatively few give serious trouble 

 not more than there are different kinds of crops grown 

 and every cultivator of the soil knows the difference between 

 wheat, barley, oats, rye, peas, turnips, beets, etc. It is no more 

 difficult to learn the names, nature and appearance of Stink- 

 weed, Hare's-ear Mustard, False Flax, Canada Thistle, Field 

 Sow Thistle, Sweet Grass, Quack, etc., than to recognize the 

 familiar cultivated plants. 



In the official bulletins which have been widely distributed 

 during recent years, the weeds have been named uniformly, 

 though many of them have other local names. It is therefore 

 clearly important that those for whose benefit the bulletins 

 have been prepared should know the plants by the names officially 

 recognized, so that they may be able to make the fullest use of 

 the information. 



