THISTLES. 37 
value as fodder in times of stress, but the land covered by thistles, if pro- 
perly utilized, would have yielded vastly superior, more nutritious, and 
abundant as well as less dangerous forage. ‘Thistles have been termed a 
drought insurance by certain apologists, but such insurance is like burning 
all one’s inflammable goods to avoid the risk of fire. Apart from water 
storage and irrigation the best insurances against drought are silos, fodder 
storage, root crops, mixed rotation farming, and good deep cultivation. 
Carduus pycnocephalus, Jacq. A native of Europe, Asia, and Africa. 
It is sometimes termed the Slender Thistle, and more commonly the Shore 
Thistle, although in Victoria it grows just as well inland. It is annual 
or biennial, the latter especially if flowering is prevented. 
Three Star Tuisties, all of them annual, are proclaimed for the 
whole State. They all have smaller heads than the true thistles, and have 
the pappus on the ‘‘seeds’’ less developed, or entirely absent, as in the 
prtrue Star Thistle (Centaurea calcitrapa). This plant sometimes has the 
* heads reduced to small clusters of prickly bracts without any perfect 
flowers. : 
Centaurea calcitrapa, L., is the true Star Thistle. A native of Europe, 
Asia, and Africa. It, like the following, is entirely without value, and 
exceedingly troublesome, if neglected. The star thistles, as whole, on 
account of their lesser power of wind dispersal seem to spread less rapidly 
than the ordinary thistles, and since the duration of the seed in the soil 
seems to be between one and three years, local treatment more readily 
suppresses them with less danger of reinfection. 
Centaurea melitensis, L., the Maltese Thistle, and Centaurea solstitialis, 
L., St. Barnaby’s Thistle. They are natives of Europe, Asia, and Africa, 
and as both have yellow florets, they are easily confused. The latter has 
longer spines on the heads and longer bristles on the seeds. 
Centaurea solstitialis, L. St. Barnaby’s Thistle. A stiff, erect annual, 
one to two feet high, with few branches, and covered with a white cottony 
wool. Radical leaves pinnatifid (like a feather); upper leaves small and 
linear, decurrent in long, narrow wings along the stem. | Flower heads 
solitary at the ends of the branches, nearly globular ; the innermost bracts 
ending in a small shining appendage ; the intermediate ones in a long, 
spreading prickle, with one or two small ones at its base ; the outermost 
usually with only a few small, palmate prickles. Florets of a bright yellow. 
Fruiting heads with a soft white pappus. 
An introduction from Southern Europe. It should be dug out with a 
hoé or mattock before the seeds mature, piled and burnt. It often flowers 
after cutting, if fairly old, and left too long. 
The Star and Maltese Thistles were proclaimed in the original Act. 
St. Barnaby’s Thistle was proclaimed for Wodonga in 1899, then for 
Maldon and for the whole State in 1908. 
Kentrophyllum lanatum, D.C. A native of Europe, Asia, and Africa. 
The Saffron Thistle is widely spread over the whole State, and in many 
districts. is reported to be the worst of all the thistles. : 
~~ Proclaimed for the whole State. 
Carthamus tinctorius, L. The Safflower is occasionally sent in as a 
weed evidently having escaped from gardens, but it appears to be of trivial 
importance as a weed. . 
Chrysanthemum. Three introduced Chrysanthemums axe naturalized in 
Victoria, but none are as yet very troublesome. ' 
C. segetum, L. A native of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Is an annual 
plant, a, foot or more in height, with yellow flower heads, and the upper 
