PINK FAMILY. 93 



The plant was introduced from Europe. It is most plen- 

 tiful along the eastern and western coasts, but is found 

 locally in the interior, growing in waste 



The Plant , j -,, 



and S d pl aces an d among gram crops- It is an an- 

 nual grass from two to four feet high, with 

 a smooth, stout stem, and rather broad leaves, rough 

 above. The spikelets, each containing four to eight seeds, 

 are arranged alternately, pressing into slight curves in 

 the rachis, or main stalk. The fruit, which alone pro- 

 duces trouble, is not unlike a small grain of barley in 

 appearance. The hulls enclose the kernel very tightly, 

 the outer one being hard and flinty, and the inner 

 minutely bristly along the edges. The size is about that 

 of a small grain of wheat. 



PINK FAMILY Caryophyttaceae. 



PURPLE COCKLE Agrostemma Githago L. 



Other Common Names : Corn Cockle, Corn Rose, Corn 

 Campion. 



The seeds of this common plant are responsible for a 

 great deal of trouble. Their reputation is so bad that 



certain of the United States have laws pro- 

 Conditions of . ., .,. - . , , . , ,, 

 Poisoning hibitmg the sale of feeds in which they 



are present even in the smallest proportion. 

 The plant grows commonly in wheat fields, and the seeds 

 are of such a size that it is very difficult to separate them 

 from the wheat. Before the days of modern machinery 

 they often found their way into the flour with disastrous 

 results. At present the chief trouble arises from the fact 

 that when they have been cleaned from the wheat, they 

 are mixed with bran and middlings or other feeds, some- 

 times in sufficient proportions to cause many deaths 



