CRUCIFERA. ‘ 15° 
divided, oblong, or lanceolate. Flowers rather large, and yellow. Pods more 
or less spreading, half to one and a half inches long, of which rather more. 
than a third is occupied by a stout beak, often containing a seed in its base ; 
the valves glabrous, or rough with stiff reflexed hairs, the lateral nerves pro-_, 
minent. A native probably of Southern Europe, but now one of the. 
most abundant weeds of cultivation throughout the world. Though an 
annual, this is a very troublesome weed, especially in cornfields. As in. 
the case of all wild Crucifere, it has no value as a pasture plant, and even 
-cabbage, rape, and turnip, when allowed to run wild, lose their food value 
and become unpalatable. It is not yet abundant, but should on no ac- 
count be allowed to spread, especially on the light soils and calcareous. 
loams which it favours. 
Its suppression is possible by bare fallows, or repeated harrowing and’ 
hoeing, coupled with the cultivation of potatoes and root crops. Grain 
should not be grown until the land is clean, since the seed falls when the 
grain is harvested, and a little is sufficient to rapidly foul the land again. 
Two or three years treatment and careful cultivation are necessary to clean 
land which has been for some time badly fouled, and it is important that 
the deeper soil is brought to the surface, so that buried seeds may germinate. 
If the weed appears unexpectedly among young corn, clover or grass, a 
spray of 16 lbs. of copper sulphate per 40 gallons of water per acre, or of 
60 lbs. of sulphate of iron per 40 gallons of water per acre, may be used, 
the mixing to be done in wooden, enamelled, or greased vessels. The 
spraying should be as fine as possible, and should be done in dry calm 
weather, while.the plants are young. A spray of this strength injures 
beans, peas, and potatoes, but not young grain crops or pastures. It does 
not, however, destroy. wild radish, white charlock, smooth-leaved charlock, 
or treacle mustard, and only kills the common charlock in the seedling con- 
- dition. Docks and thistles are retarded, but not destroyed, by this spray. 
The application of 20 to 60 or more Ibs. of ammonium sulphate per 60 to 
too gallons of water per acre as a spray has been recommended to keep . 
down charlock, while at the same time manuring the land, but the results 
do not seem to be altogether satisfactory, and poisoning methods are always 
costly and rarely satisfactory. 
Proclaimed for the whole State. 
Camelina sativa, Crantz. Gold of Pleasure. A native of Europe and 
temperate Asia. A hardy annual, but rare, and probably merely an occa- 
sional garden escape. 
Capsella Bursa-pastoris, L. The Shepherd’s Purse. A common 
European weed which has been in this State for at least sixty years, and 
which grows in nearly every country outside the tropical belts. It is espe- ~ 
cially found at the edges of fields, by: roadsides, and on waste places, and 
on light cultivated land, but is not a dangerous weed, and shows no marked - 
tendency to spread. The plant is often attacked by a white ‘rust ’’ 
fungus, Cystopus candidus, which may spread‘on to rape, cabbages, turnips, 
wallflowers, or radishes. The Shepherd’s Purse is an annual with small 
white flowers, numerous purse-like pods, and a basal rosette of simple or ° 
divided leaves. Though an annual, it often develops a long tap root in” 
search of moisture. : 
Diplotaxis tenuifolid, D.C. Rocket.’ A native of Europe and Asia 
Minor. It is not plentiful, hitherto, but appears to be increasing in: 
the Shire of South Barwon. It is a perennial frequenting chiefly walls and ° 
waste places, but may become troublesome in pastures. It has been intro- 
duced, both with ballast and with impure agricultural seed. 
