THE PIGWEED FAMILY 57 



circular or egg-shaped in outline, much flattened and equally con- 

 vex on both sides. An immature or shrunken seed has a narrow, 

 slightly flattened marginal band, which marks the location of 

 the ring-like germ. The basal scar appears, as a light point on the 

 edge of the seed separating the ends of the germ. 



Time of flowering: July to September; seed ripe by August. 



Propagation: By seeds. 



Occurrence: In all crops. Thoroughly established in all 

 the settled portions of the Dominion. Abundant in waste places 

 around farm buildings and in gardens. Widely spread by the 

 seeds, which occur commonly in all commercial seeds. 



Injury: A pestiferous weed in gardens and fields; especially 

 troublesome in potato and field root crops. It is a coarse, vigor- 

 ous grower, and when it has attained to full size, is difl&cult to 

 destroy by pulling or cutting. A medium-sized plant will pro- 

 duce fully twelve thousand seeds. 



Remedy: When embedded in the soil, the seeds retain their 

 vitality for several years, though probably not more than five in 

 a moist soU, and produce seedling plants only when brought by 

 cultivation within about two inches of the surface. Late culti- 

 vation in hoed crops should be made as shallow as practicable; 

 after general cultivation is discontinued, plants of this and other 

 weeds that have escaped should be cut with the hoe from time 

 to time during the late summer months. Like other annual 

 weeds, it can rapidly be suppressed by preventing the production 

 of a fresh supply of seeds. 



ALLIED SPECIES: Green Amaranth (Amaranthus hybri- 

 dus L.) is quite similar to Redroot Pigweed, but smoother and 

 deeper green in colour, with spikes more slender-cylindrical, and 

 bracts with rather long awns. The seed is much like that of 

 Redroot Pigweed and, although averaging rather smaller, about 

 1/32 of an inch in diameter, can not always be distinguished from 

 it when found among crop seeds. 



