neglect in the cultivation, 

 black " cockle " seeds. 



859 

 Samples of wheat are often infested with 



BRAMBLES, which are shrubs of the rose, blackberry, and dewberry 

 family (nat. ord. Rosacese), must also come under the head of weeds, 

 where they encumber land which is, or ought to be, devoted to agricul- 

 tural purposes. They are not easily suppressed, and their long prickly 

 shoots twine round and destroy all vegetation within their reach. Their 

 roots penetrate very deeply, and ramify in every direction. They must 

 be worked out of the surface soil before land can be profitably cropped. 



HEATHS (EricaB). These plants, the benefit of which will generally 

 be more quickly realised if the land is limed, though useful and orna- 

 mental on the sandy waste, ought never to be found upon cultivated 

 grounds, and, when present, must be regarded as weeds. 



RUSHES (Junci). When these intrude into situations that should be 

 occupied by better plants, they must be destroyed. They are common 

 in moist meadows with a retentive subsoil. They not only occupy 

 space that might produce good herbage, but greatly deteriorate the hay 

 with which they are mixed. The farmer should leave no means 

 untried to get rid of them, and persistent cutting will be found useful 

 to this end. Where they have once been permitted to grow, they can 

 only be effectually destroyed by draining. Their presence is a charac- 

 teristic of wet land. 



FERNS (Filices) grow chiefly in hedges, or on mountainous and 

 upland pastures. 



MOSSES (Musci) are not wholly innutritious in themselves, but they 

 have a tendency to overrun the ground, and, by their closely-woven 

 fibres, to prevent the growth of vegetation. It is more probable, 

 however, that the herbage plants die away first, and the mosses invade 

 the area which is thus left bare ; a sign of povert}', which can be set 

 right by the application of manure. Lime is often found especially 

 valuable in such cases. 



The weeds that have been specifically named are arranged in 

 botanical sequence below, with a reference to the page upon which 

 each is described : 



Eanunculacece. Crowfoot or Buttercup, 



p. 857. 



PapaveracecR.Corn Poppy, p. 857. 

 Cruciferce. Charlock, p. 856. 



Wild Radish, p. 857. 

 Caryophyllacece. Chickweed, p. 858. 



Corn Cockle, p. 858. 

 Rubiacece. Goose-grass, p. 855. 

 Compositce. Bur-thistle, p. 852. 

 Corn-thistle, p. 853. 

 Sow-thistle, p. 853. 



Compositce. Spear Plume-thistle, p. 853. 



Ragweed, p. 854. 



Groundsel, p. 854. 



Coltsfoot, p. 854. 



Burdock, p. 854. 



Daisy, p. 855. 



Corn Marigold, p. 858. 



Corn Blue-bottle, p. 857. 



Black Knapweed, p. 857. 

 Labiatce. Corn Mint, p. 806. 



Red Dead Kettle, p. 856. 



