40 FARM WEEDS OF CANADA 



THE RUSH FAMILY {Juncaceae). 



Like the sedges, the members of the Rush family are common 

 in wet lands and bogs. The so-called Poverty-grass or Slender 

 Rush (Juncus tenuis Willd.), which is perennial, sometimes gives 

 trouble in low places in fields and pastures. The rushes are of 

 practically no value as forage plants. Wherever found, they 

 indicate the need of drainage. In pastures that can not be thor- 

 oughly drained, repeated cutting of the rushes and thick seeding 

 with true grasses that thrive in wet soils is recommended. 



THE BUCKWHEAT FAMILY (Polygonaceae) . 



This family contains several weeds besides a few cultivated 

 plants, such as buckwheat, India-wheat, rhubarb, and a number 

 of ornamental varieties. They are distributed all over the 

 continent in all kinds of soil, though they generally thrive best 

 in low, damp locations. 



Their habit of growth varies, but they are nearly all her- 

 baceous plants, with hollow stems swollen at the joints. The 

 leaves are alternate, without any teeth or divisions but with 

 appendages at the base of the footstalk, embracing the stem. 

 The flowers are small, grouped together in spikes or drooping 

 clusters, nearly always supported by jointed stalks, the calyx 

 and the corolla often wanting or not showy. 



The seeds are small, generally compressed, angled or lens- 

 shaped or winged. They are widely distributed with the seeds 

 of commerce, as they are in many cases of the same shape or size. 



The troublesome weeds of this family belong to two genera, 

 the Docks (Rumex) and the Smartweeds or Knotweeds (Poly- 

 gonum) . 



Docks are tall-stemmed weeds with tap-roots, peren- 

 nial, but not spreading from the root except in a few cases, as 



