222 LEGUMINOSAE (PULSE FAMILY) 



face to face and drooping against the stalk. Flowers large, 

 often more than an inch across, lifted on slender peduncles 

 from the upper axils, singly or in clusters of two or three; 

 they are bright golden yellow, but often two or three of the 

 rounded petals are spotted with purple at the base, and usually 

 six of the anthers are purple and four are yellow. Pods 

 slender, about two inches long, slightly hairy; when ripe, they 

 split apart with a slightly twisting action by which the seeds 

 are thrown a short distance from the parent plant ; so that next 

 year, where one weed grew there will be a little patch. (Fig. 158.) 



Means of control 



Prevent development of seed. Postpone all other work for a day 

 and cut the Partridge Pea patches on noting the first golden bloom. 

 Repeat the operation with the new growth which follows, and as 

 soon as all dormant seed in the ground has stirred into life and been 

 given like treatment the trouble will be ended. New infestations 

 should be promptly pulled or cut before any seed is formed. Ground 

 on which plants have been allowed to mature and scatter seeds 

 should be burned over in order to destroy them. 



RATTLE-BOX 

 Crotalaria sagittdlis, L. 



Other' English names: Rattleweed, Wild Pea. 



Native. Annual. Propagates by seeds. 



Time of bloom : June to July. 



Seed-time: August to October. 



Range: Massachusetts to Florida, along the coast; bottom lands 



of the Missouri River in South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, 



and northern Texas. 

 Habitat : Rich, moist soil ; pastures and meadows. 



This plant is the cause of a sickness, called Crotalism by veterina- 

 rians and Missouri Bottom Disease by the farmers, which is often 

 fatal to horses and sometimes also to cattle, though deaths are less 

 frequent with the latter than with horses. The poisonous principle 

 is in both leaves and seeds, and is not dissipated by drying but seems 

 to be even more potent in plants that have been harvested with 



