114 Weeds. 



tioned which may closely resemble these 

 in their habits of growth. 



The weeds which are dibcussed in this 

 chapter are all included in the thistle or 

 sunflower family. This is the largest fam- 

 ily of flowering plants, including some ten 

 or twelve thousand species in all parts of 

 the world. The individual flowers are 

 usually small and inconspicuous. They are 

 arranged together in considerable numbers 

 in heads at the ends of the stalks. These 

 heads are quite commonly regarded as 

 single flowers, as those of the daisy, the 

 dandelion, or the thistle, but in reality they 

 are made up of a very large number of 

 minute flowers. The family includes many 

 of our most valuable economic and medic- 

 inal plants, as well as many of our worst 

 weeds. 



The six weeds here discussed are among 

 the most troublesome to the farmer. They 

 are the Canada thistle, the perennial sozo 

 thistle, the ox-eye daisy, the burdoek, the 

 rag'-ci'eed, and the 7cild lettnce. The spe- 

 cific modes here described of dealing with 

 these weeds and those which are discussed 

 in the chapters which follow are nearly all 

 based on the actual experience of the 



