26 ROSACEA. 
request of any Shire Council concerned, to grow in hedges as hedge plants 
provided that the said hedges are kept closely trimmed and not allowed 
to exceed a breadth of three feet and a height of six feet. If this pro- 
vision were adhered to, there would be no appreciable danger of the plants 
spreading in pest fashion, and at the same time the theory of the Act 
would be brought into closer harmony with its practical application. In 
some districts, however, the Sweet Briar, Bramble, and Box Thorn have 
so strong a hold and are proving so troublesome that it is doubtful whether 
it would be wise to relax the Act in any way in regard to them for the 
present at least. Box Thorn, for instance, though a useful hedge plant, 
especially when mixed with Tree Lucerne, is only safe in closely settled 
districts where it can be kept under control. To introduce it in sparsely 
settled districts is wanton folly. It spreads rapidly, grows on almost any 
soil, forms impenetrable thickets harvouring vermin, stands drought and 
cannot be burnt. To cut it is costly and dangerous on account of the 
thorns which are slightly poisonous, and when cut the stumps and roots 
will shoot again. Once covered by it, grazing land becomes practically 
worthless, since it will only pay to completely eradicate it when the land 
is to be used for intense cultivation. : 
Rosace#& (Rose Fami ty). 
The typical resaceous flower with its indefinite stamens inserted on 
the ‘‘calyx’’ cup is easily recOgnised, but a few members of the family 
have small greenish flowers in clusters, no petals, and a few stamens only. 
This large order includes, in addition to many decorative plants and a 
number of valuable orchard trees (Cherry, Apple, Medlar, Pear, Plum, 
Almond, Quince), a few troublesome weeds or at least plants which become 
troublesome on neglected ground. The order is, however, essentially not 
a ‘weed ’”’ order, and throughout its members the seed appears to be short 
lived, except possibly in the case of such plants as the Hawthorn. Two 
rosaceous plants are proclaimed. 
Rosa rubiginosa, L. The.Sweet Briar. A tall often dense shrub, 
branches erect or arching, with large hooked prickles flattened laterally, 
and smaller, straighter ones interspersed with glandular hairs. Leaflets 
five to seven, roundish or egg-shaped, doubly tocthed, glabrous above, 
hairy, clothed with rust coloured glands beneath, from which when bruised 
is emitted the peculiar sweet-briar odour, for which the plant is noted. 
Flowers one to three together, concave, pink. Sepals pinnate and bristly. 
Fruit orange-red, roundish or ovoid. 
This plant has no edible fruit like the Blackberry to plead in excuse 
for its existence, but simply its aroma. Birds eat the red fruits, scattering 
the undigested seeds far and wide. It is a still more troublesome weed 
to subdue than the Bramble, but the same directions for eradication apply 
in this case also. Tts spread is favoured by archaic methods of pasturage, 
without cultivating, renewing or resting the pastures. Stock will eat the 
young new shcots formed after cutting down if tlose penned on the ground, 
hut “when the shoots are older they remain untouched, and soon replenish 
the food stored in the root-stock. Hence, cutting, to be effective, should 
be repeated as often as anv hard stems are formed. With the aid of a 
twisted chain and a strong horse or pair of horses, old plants can be 
dragged out of the ground especially after rain, piled and burnt when drv. 
Digging out with a spade or mattock is cleaner since the portions of the 
root-stock are more likely to be removed, but this means a heavy labour 
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