300 UMBELLIFERAE (PARSLEY FAMILY) 



are shorter than the bristles on the carpels. These are in pairs, 

 forming tiny, ovoid burs, bristling with prickly hooks, there being 

 several of the burs in a cluster, ready at a touch from woolen 

 garments or a sheep's fleece to "catch on for a ride." (Fig. 208.) 



S. marilandica, differing in that the styles are much longer 

 than the bristles and recurved, is equally common and has a more 

 extensive range from Newfoundland to Georgia and westward to 

 the Rocky Mountains. 



Means of control 



Prevent the formation of seed by close cutting or pulling when 

 in first bloom. 



POISON HEMLOCK 



Conlum maculatum, L. 



Other English names: Deadly Hemlock, Spotted Cowbane, Spotted 

 Parsley, Poison Stinkweed, Wode Whistle, Herb of St. Bennet. 



Introduced. Biennial. Propagates by seeds. 



Time of bloom: June to July. 



Seed-time: August to September. 



Range: New England and Middle Atlantic States, westward to 

 Michigan and Indiana, southward to Virginia. Also in Cali- 

 fornia and Louisiana. 



Habitat : Moist soil ; waste places. 



All parts of this plant are exceedingly poisonous. Every year 

 domestic animals are killed by eating its young leaves in the spring, 

 children have died from mistaking its seeds for fennel or caraway, 

 and the close resemblance of its leaves to those of parsley some- 

 times is the cause of fatal poisoning. This is said to be the herb 

 which furnished the "Cup of death" given to Socrates in Ancient 

 Athens. The plant is used in medicine for diseases of the nervous 

 system, and to supply the demands of the drug trade about thirty 

 thousand pounds of its seeds and fifteen to twenty thousand pounds 

 of its dried leaves are annually imported, at a cost of about three 

 cents a pound for the seeds and four cents for the leaves. Probably 

 the home-grown product would be as readily purchased if properly 

 cured. (Fig. 209.) 



According to the fertility of the soil, the height of the plant varies 

 from two to five feet. Stem smooth, erect, much branched, hollow, 



