50 FARM FRIENDS AND FARM FOES 



blossom. There are comparatively few of the long, narrow 

 leaves, which, with the stem and outer part of the flowers, 

 are covered with a coat of fine hairs. 



The dark purple or blackish seeds are produced in an ob- 

 long pod. They are threshed with the wheat ; and as they 

 are nearly the size and weight of the wheat kernel, it is 

 very difficult to separate the Corn Cockle seeds from the 

 grain. In consequence the flour is of inferior quality. The 

 presence of the seeds is shown by the black particles of the 

 pulverized seed coat. Flour badly contaminated by Cockle 

 seeds is injurious when eaten, as they contain a poisonous 

 principle that produces disease and death. 



The Cockle plants are easily pulled up in wheat fields 

 and should be removed, especially from all fields that are 

 intended to produce seed grain. 



Few weedy plants have such distinctive beauty as has 

 the famous Field Poppy or Corn Poppy of the English 

 poets. In England the fields of wheat are called corn 

 fields, although in America this term is usually restricted 

 to Indian Corn. The Field Poppy has long been a pest in 

 European wheat fields; but it gives to the landscape a 

 glow of scarlet color, much as our own meadows are 

 decorated with the Oxeye Daisy. This Field Poppy has 

 been introduced into many regions in America, probably 

 through adulterated seed, and threatens to become trouble- 

 some wherever it appears. It is so conspicuous a plant 

 that it can scarcely be overlooked, and when first introduced 

 into a locality it should be exterminated. This is also one of 

 the garden Poppies and of course there is danger that it 

 may spread to cultivated fields. 



The famous Russian Thistle or Russian Tumbleweed is 

 another European plant that has become destructive in 

 America. The history of the introduction of this pest has 



