BINDWEED, BEARBINE S97 



of stem left in the ground shoot again, and the work must be 

 repeated until they are weakened and finally exhausted alto- 

 gether. Hand-pulling is most effective after rain, as the plants 

 come up easier and more completely then. In corn crops the 

 practice should be carried out in May, and again later in the 

 season to avoid missing the seedlings, which might be overlooked 

 when very young. 



Nipplewort (Lapsana communis L.). — An annual plant with 

 milky juice and branched stems bearing numbers of small 

 dandelion-like yellow heads of flowers. The lower leaves are 

 thin lyrate-pinnatifid, the upper ones entire. The fruits are pale 

 brownish-yellow (6, Fig. 199), and often occur as an impurity in 

 clover seeds. It is common on cultivated and waste ground. 



CONVOLVULAOEJE. — Bindweed, Bearbine {Convolvulus 

 arvensis L.). — A perennial with a creeping underground stem, 

 which descends considerable depths in light soils. The thin 

 stems appearing above ground twine spirally round neighbouring 

 plants. The leaves resemble an arrow head in form (sagittate 

 or hastate). The flowers are bell or trumpet shaped, about an 

 inch in diameter, white and pink. 



It is one of the worst pests of agriculture, and on light sandy 

 ground seriously damages corn crops when present in abundance. 

 The seeds which are poisonous to stock are produced in round- 

 ish capsules, four seeds in each. It is practically impossible to 

 prevent their formation and ripening when the plants are 

 established and the stems wound round those of the crop. 



The weed, however, is chiefly spread by its rhizomes, which 

 sometimes descend so deeply as to be outside the reach of 

 ordinary tillage implements. Deep-ploughing and collecting 

 with harrows is useful, and forking out the weeds when they 

 occur in small patches can also be adopted with success. Con- 

 tinuous use of the hoe as soon as the shoots appear above the 

 surface cripples the plants, and with perseverance the pest may 

 thus be destroyed or at any rate kept in abeyance. 



