THE MUSTARD FAMILY 95 



narrowed to the base; those on the stiff stems, which become 

 wire-like when ripe, oblong oval, shaped like a hare's or a rabbit's 

 ear, clasping the stem by two rounded, ear-like lobes. Flowers 

 creamy-white, 1/4 inch across. Pods square, 3 to 4 inches long. 



The seed (Plate 73, fig. 38) is dark brown, rounded-oblong, 

 pointed at the scar end, 1/12 of an inch long, granular roughened; 

 when soaked in water, covered with short, erect, white, mucilagin- 

 ous hairs. In shape it resembles the seed of common False 

 Flax. 



Time of flowering: End of June; seeds ripe August- 

 September. 



Propagation : By seeds. 



Occurrence : Quite general throughout the West, especially 

 in southern Alberta, in grain fields, on stubble and by roadsides; 

 spreading rapidly. 



Injury: A coarse growing weed which occupies much space. 

 The succulent plant absorbs moisture from the soil and little 

 grain can grow where there is a patch of it. The wiry stems 

 are hard to bind and are bad for reaping and binding machines; 

 an infested crop requires more labour to handle and more twine 

 to bind. The seeds are common in commercial grain and in 

 flax; clean virgin soil is often polluted with it through sowing 

 flax on newly broken land. The plant is a harbour for insect 

 and fungus pests injurious to cultivated crops of allied species, 

 particularly to turnips and cabbage. 



Remedy: Sow clean seed. Hand-pull small patches when 

 the weed makes its first appearance. When the grain is three 

 inches high, use the harrow to destroy the seedling weeds. This 

 practice, combined with discing immediately after harvest 

 and thorough summer-fallowing once in three years, will keep 

 this weed in check and ultimately exterminate it. Badly in- 

 fested areas may be seeded to grass for three or four years as few 

 plants will mature seeds in a well-established timothy or western 



