WEEDS OF THE ROSE FAMILY. 



87 



berries by these thorny brambles? Moreover, they offer us a cure 

 for over-eating;, for a decoction made by steeping an ounce of the 

 root in a pint of water is a valuable remedy in dysentery, cholera 

 infantum and other bowel troubles. 



However, it is not so much for humans as for birds that this 

 fruit is produced by the blackberry canes. Each of the little fruits, 

 which are clustered together around the fleshy receptacle, is in 

 reality a nut which has clothed itself in an outer coat of sweet 

 colored pulp. This pulp is a bonus which the plant throws in to 

 induce the bird to swallow the nut. "Within the nutlets, and pro- 

 tected by their hard indigestible stones or shells, are the true seeds 

 which are scattered far and wide by the birds. The same plan of 

 surrounding the nut by juicy pulp is seen in the peach, plum and 

 cherry, where it is more evident to sight on account of the larger 

 size : of the nut or so-called seed. 



The dewberry or low running blackberry (7?. procumhens Muhl.) 

 is very common in old meadows and dry upland fields in southern 

 Indiana. Its long trailing stems often become mixed with the hay 

 and so prove a great nuisance to haymakers and barefooted boys. 

 Remedies the same. 



48. Potentilla canadensis L. Common Cinquefoil. Five-finger. (P. N. 3.) 

 Stems half erect or prostrate, 3 inches to 2 feet long, spreading by 

 slender runners ; leaves composed of 5 leaflets which are digitate or spring- 

 . — ^ ing from a common point ; these Ob- 



long, obtnse at apex, cut-toothed. 

 Flowers axillary, solitary, yellow, 

 showy ; petals broadly oval ; stamens 

 about 20. Achenes numerous, smooth. 

 (Figs. 9, 6; 53.) 



Common in dry soils, espe- 

 cially in old "worn-out" fields in 

 southern Indiana ; much less so in 

 the northern portions. May-July. 

 Often called "wild strawberry," 

 which its foliage closely resembles, 

 but the fruit not fleshy. It is 

 especially prevalent on sloping hill- 

 sides in company with the dew- 

 berry, blackberry, mullen, etc. Its 

 Fig. 53. (After Watson.) presence indicates that the soil is 



sterile or lacking in some element of fertility. Remedies : fertiliza- 

 tion and cultivation with forage plants, a? clover or cow-peas ; 

 sheep-grazing. 



