270 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



and along railroads, we cannot say when any of them may 

 take a start and in the course of a few years become as 

 abundant and as much of a nuisance as the white daisy or 

 wild carrot. Indeed, we know so little about the habits of 

 these plants that we cannot tell what they are capable of 

 doing in our climate. We already know that among some 

 of the earlier introduced plants some spread only slightly ; 

 for example, coltsfoot was found in Massachusetts as early 

 as 1672 and has had many years to become accustomed to 

 the climate, and yet it is to-day, although widely distributed, 

 a very rare plant in our State. On the other hand purslane 

 and shepherd's-purse are probably more abundant than at 

 any time since their introduction. There are certain other 

 plants, such, for example, as the Geraniuin moUe, a species 

 of comparatively recent introduction, which I have observed 

 thriving quite abundantly for a few years on lawns, when all 

 of a sudden it would disappear. In fact, we have observed 

 this same tendency among many recently introduced plants. 



So far as our observations go it appears to be the species 

 which show a slow and sturdy growth that threaten to become 

 our worst weeds. An instance of this may be seen in the 

 white daisy. This is said to have been introduced in Rhode 

 Island about eighty years ago for the purpose of horse feed, 

 and another report stated that it was in Massachusetts in 

 1783, or one hundred and fourteen years ago. To-day on 

 account of its gradual increase it is one of the most con- 

 spicuous plants in our neglected grass lands. 



The yellow daisy (JRudbecMci hirta), which has never 

 become so abundant and from present appearances would 

 seem likely not to be, was introduced forty or fifty years ago. 

 Ribwort {Plantago lanceolata), was not found by Professor 

 Hitchcock in 1829, yet at the present time it is common 

 enough. The fall dandelion (Leontodon autumnaUs) , quite 

 common now, was only seen once by Professor Tuckerman 

 of Amherst previous to 1875 ; and the same held true for 

 such plants as lucern (^Medicago sativa), sweet alyssum 

 {Alyssum calychium) and bladder campion (Silene injiata). 

 In fact, there are many plants growing in Hampshire County 

 which are not mentioned in Tuckerman's catalogue, which 

 was carefully prepared and represented a remarkably full 



