CROP ENEMIES AND FRIENDS 



197 



Canada thistle, dandelion, horse nettle or sand brier, nut grass, 

 oxeye or white daisy, rib grass or English plantain, sorrel or sour 

 weed, and wild onion or field garlic. Nearly all of these have been 

 imported in grass or grain seed from 

 Europe. Many of our native poisonous 

 plants are perennials. 



Daisy. The white-and-yellow daisy 

 (Chry san'the mum leu can' the mum) is 

 a cousin of our much-prized chrysan- 

 themum. It has a pretty flower, but is 

 one of our most troublesome perennial 

 weeds. Throughout the eastern part 

 of the United States, from Maine to 

 North Carolina, farmers regard it as an 

 enemy. 



It is not difficult to destroy in culti- 

 vated crops, but it spreads so rapidly 

 in meadows and pastures that it soon 

 crowds out the grasses. It can be 

 killed by hoed crops, or checked in hay 

 fields by mowing early before it ma- 

 tures seed. 



Loco Weed. The woolly loco weed and the stemless loco weed 

 are peculiar poisonous perennials of the Great Plains region. 

 They are found both on the prairies and on the foothills and moun- 

 tain sides. They are called 'crazy weeds' because their effect 

 on stock is like that of alcohol or morphine on human beings. 

 Cattle, sheep, and horses that eat these weeds are said to be 'lo- 

 coed'; they are affected with mania, refuse all other food, and 

 finally die. Loco causes an immense loss every year to the live- 

 stock owners of the West. 



DAISY 



