VARIOUS FARM PRODUCTS 543 



European Bindweed or Morning Glory. The European bind- 

 weed or morning glory is a deep rooting perennial with twining or 

 creeping stems. The small arrow shaped leaves are an inch or two 

 long. The flowers are an inch or less long, short or broadly funnel 

 shaped, white, blueish, or commonly of rose tinge. The American 

 wild morning glory or hedge bindweed differs from the preceding 

 in that the leaves are larger, triangular, halberd or arrow shaped. 

 The flowers are white tinged with rose purple and much larger than 

 the European morning gTory. The morning glory must be treated 

 as the horse nettle as it is a perennial. In addition to the usual 

 methods of cultivation, sheep have been recommended to destroy 

 the weed. This method is certainly applicable where the weed oc- 

 curs in pastures. (Iowa B. 70.) 



Burdock (Arctium Lappa).It is a coarse, branched biennial 

 from a foot to three feet high; hairy; leaves large, roundish or 

 heart shaped, thin, obtuse, entire or dentate, floccose tomentose 

 beneath. The plant is enormously productive. It begins to bear 

 fruit the second year and continues to flower till frost. In fact, it 

 is capable of standing considerable frost. The achenes (seeds) are 

 email, oblong, flattened affairs, having a short pappus ("hairs") 

 which soon falls off. There are several well-marked varieties which 

 differ mainly in size of the leaves and heads. Burdock is easily 

 destroyed. Since it is a biennial cut off below the crown during the 

 summer. If it comes up again, cut off once more, or as often as 

 may be necessary. The important thing is not to allow it to go to 

 seed; it will then die if left to itself. (Iowa Agr. Exp. Sta. B. 70.) 



Curled or Yellow Dock. There are several species of dock 

 common in meadows. Several of them are quite troublesome as 

 weeds at tirrtes. Among the docks may be mentioned the curled 

 dock Rumex crispus. This is a smooth perennial from three to four 

 feet high, leaves with strongly wavy and curled margins, lanceolate 

 and acute. In the lower leaves the bases somewhat truncate or in- 

 clined to be heart-shaped. The flowers are collected in dense 

 whorls, extended or prolonged into racemes, entirely leafless above, 

 'but below with small leaves. The flower consists of six sepals, the 

 outer herbaceous, leaflike, the three inner larger and somewhat 

 curled, and after flowering forming the valves of the fruit. These 

 surround the three angled fruit (achene), all the valves bearing a 

 grain. The R. altissimus, occurs in low ground. The leaves are 

 longer, oblong, lanceolate, acute, pale, thickish, but not with wavy 

 curled margins as in R. crispus. The racemes are long, spike-like 

 panicled, nearly leafless. Both of the species mentioned here are 

 perennial. One of the most efficient means of destroying this weed 

 is to root it out by the hand and this is done very readily in the 

 spring when the soil is wet by taking hold of the plant just at tho 

 surface of the ground, giving the root a slight twist and at the 

 same time an upward pull, and the root will readily come from 

 the soil. Where it is common, however, it is sometimes plowed or a 

 spud is used. This method is not, however, so effective as the {lull- 

 ing method. (Iowa Bui. 70.) 



