72 



THE INDIAN" A WEED BOOK. 



Seeds light yellow, conical, about the size of clover seed and usually 

 covered with a gray coating. (Fig. 39.) 



Occurs sparingly in the north- 

 ern third of the State; there in- 

 troduced by the trunk-line rail- 

 ways from the northwest, where 

 it is a very troublesome weed in 

 prairie grain fields. . July-Sept. 

 It is a tumble-weed, not a thistle, 

 and when full grown becomes 

 very large and spreading, form- 

 ing a top from 2 to 6 feet in dia- 

 meter. When broken off it is 

 rolled over and over by the wind, 

 scattering far and wide its many 

 see ds. Remedies: pulling, spud- 

 ding or uprooting before seeding; 

 cultivating hoed crops until Au- 

 gust; burning wheat stubble and 

 other areas where it grows ; sow- 

 ing forage crops and pasturing 

 with sheep. Farmers living along 

 railways should keep an especial 

 lookout for the Russian thistle and should destroy at once every 

 strange weed which bears any resemblance to the description given. 

 It is estimated that a single specimen produces from 20,000 to 30,- 

 000 seeds, so that if only one matures its seeds the farmers for 

 miles around will suffer in a vear or two. 



Fig. 39. a, branch of the mature plant; b, seed- 

 ling; c, flower; d, flower * iewed from above and in 

 front; e, seed; f, embryo removed from the seed. 

 (After Dewey.) 



THE AMARANTH FAMILY. AMARANTHACE.E. 



Homely herbs with alternate or opposite simple leaves. Flow- 

 ers small, green or white, variously clustered, usually in terminal 

 spikes or axillary heads and differing from those of the preceding 

 family in being surrounded by thin dry and membranous per- 

 sistent bracts which are often colored ; petals none ; calyx 2-5 

 parted, the parts usually distinct ; stamens 1-5, mostly opposite 

 the calyx lobes; ovary 1 -celled. Fruit a utricle of which the cap 

 comes away as a lid or bursts irregularly. (Fig. 14, e.) 



Only 11 species of the family are known from the State, all of 

 which are weeds of high or low degree. The showy coxcombs, 

 prince's feathers and "love lies bleeding" of the flower gardens 

 are cultivated representatives. The name Amaranthus means 



