276 MALVACEAE (MALLOW FAMILY) 



each containing one hard seed. Crows and other birds eat the 

 fruits, apparently without harm, and void them along fences and 

 telephone routes. The pest is increasing throughout the country, 

 for most people are so afraid of it that it is left unmolested to 

 multiply its kind. (Fig. 192.) 



Means of control 



Some fortunate persons are quite immune to the bad effects of 

 the plant, and one of these might be hired to grub it out and burn 

 it, taking care that no one inhales the intensely irritant smoke or 

 gets it in the eyes. Or a few drops of sulf uric acid (handle with 

 care), applied every few days to the woody stem near the roots, 

 will kill the plant ; or hot brine or caustic soda will destroy it. 



INDIAN MALLOW 



Abutilon Theophrdsti, Medic. 

 (Abutilon Avicennoe, Gaertn.) 



Other English names: Velvet Leaf, American Jute, Butter Print. 



Introduced. Annual. Propagates by seeds. 



Time of bloom : July to October. 



Seed-time: August to November. 



Range: Maine to South Dakota, southward to Florida and Texas. 



Also on the Pacific Slope. 

 Habitat : Rich soil ; cultivated ground, farm yards, waste places. 



Once established and allowed to mature fruit, this is a most 

 persistent weed, for the seed has been known to survive in the soil 

 for more than fifty years. The inner bark of the plant yields a fine, 

 strong fiber which may be made into twine, rope, or paper, whence 

 the name of American Jute ; but this is a misnomer, for the plant 

 is a native of Asia, where it is cultivated for its fiber. (Fig. 193.) 



Stem stout, erect, round, softly hairy, three to six feet in height, 

 and branching widely. Leaves alternate, pointed-heart-shaped, 

 three inches to nearly a foot broad, velvety above and below with 

 a dense coat of exceedingly fine, soft hair ; petioles slender and 

 nearly as long as the blades. Flowers solitary in the axils, each 

 about a half-inch broad, with five yellow petals and a velvety 

 green, five-lobed calyx, many stamens, united in a ring around 



