36 Composira. 
would, however, be an act of madness, which is unconsciously performed in 
many parts of the State. They are among the poorest of fodder plants, 
and their use is always dangerous. All spiny plants are injurious in fodder, 
owing to the continual danger to the digestive tracts of the animals using 
them as food, and spines were, in fact, developed by plants in order to 
form a protection against browsing animals. The same danger is present 
in a somewhat lessened form when the thistles are made into silage, and 
the taste which stock sometimes show for thistles in the fresh condition is 
a depraved one, like that of man for injurious drugs or stimulants, or of 
a calf for a dish-cloth. It no more shows that the thistle is a good fodder 
plant than that the Cape Tulip,:Darling Pea, and Hemlock are good 
fodder plants because stock often eat them, and so kill themselves. 
Another point needing emphasis is in regard to the plea commonly 
accepted by Justices of the Peace that when, as is often the case, notice 
is not served until the thistles have flowers, it would do more harm than 
good to take any steps for their eradication. The plea is bad both in law 
and in science. If a man has allowed a whole crop of thistles to approach 
seeding, there is no reason why he should not be compelled to spray the 
whole with kerosene and fire it, which would at once stop the spread of 
seed to neighbouring land. Even if the plants are merely cut, piled in 
heaps, and burnt, or covered with quicklime, the spread of seed is enor- 
mously decreased, as compared with the same plants left standing. It is 
mainly for the sake of his own land that a man should treat thistles as 
early and as often as possible. 
So long as any standing thistle is still alive, it continues to be a danger 
to a man’s neighbours, and rightly makes him liable to the penalties of 
the Thistle Act. The admission of the above plea puts a premium on 
neglect or delay. There is no bad time for cutting thistles. All times are 
good, but the best time is when they are young, and the least suitable time 
is after they have flowered. The common statement that thistles die out 
spontaneously after three years is quite untrue, unless they are cut or other- 
wise treated. Thistles naturally are especially vigorous when they first 
reach new land, but if left to themselves will propagate indefinitely, 
although in the absence of grazing stock they may ultimately be over- 
powered by the native scrub. It cannot be denied that most of the Shire 
Councils carry out the provisions of the Thistle Act imperfectly, or not at 
all, and it is doubtful whether it will be regularly and systematically 
administered until its control is vested in the Department of Agriculture, 
as in the case of the Milk and Dairy Supervision Act. 
The remaining True Thistles are all annual, or occasionally biennial, 
and are proclaimed for the whole State, with the exception of Carduus 
Crispus. 
Carduus crispus, L. ‘The Crisped Thistle. A native of Europe, Asia. 
and Africa. This is perhaps the least common and least dangerous of the 
thistles. 
Carduus lanceolatus, L, The Spear Thistle. A native of Europe, Asia. 
and Africa. It has lanceolate leaves decurrent on the stem, which is tall 
and with fairly large flower heads. It is often wrongly termed the Scotch 
Thistle. The true Scotch Heraldic Thistle (Onopordon acanthium. L.), 
though rare, is also proclaimed, and has still larger flower heads. 
Carduus Marianus, L- The Spotted or Milk Thistle. A native of 
Europe, Asia, and Africa. It is a very large form, annual. or biennial. 
One plant may cover an area of four or more square feet, but it is less 
harmful than most of the thistles. It and the preceding have a slight 
