222 LEGUMINOSAE (PULSE FAMILY) 
face to face and drooping against the stalk. Flowers large, 
often more than an inch across, lifted on slender peduncles 
from the upper axils, singly or in clusters of two or three; 
they are bright golden yellow, but often two or three of the 
rounded petals are spotted with purple at the base, and usually 
six of the anthers are purple and four are yellow. Pods 
slender, about two inches long, slightly hairy; when ripe, they 
split apart with a slightly twisting action by which the seeds 
are thrown a short distance from the parent plant; so that next 
year, where one weed grew there will be a little patch. (Fig. 158.) 
Means of control 
Prevent development of seed. Postpone all other work for a day 
and cut the Partridge Pea patches on noting the first golden bloom. 
Repeat the operation with the new growth which follows, and as 
soon as all dormant seed in the ground has stirred into life and been 
given like treatment the trouble will be ended. New infestations 
should be promptly pulled or cut before any seed is formed. Ground 
on which plants have been allowed to mature and scatter seeds 
should be burned over in order to destroy them. 
RATTLE-BOX 
Crotalaria sagittalis, L. 
Other English names: Rattleweed, Wild Pea. 
Native. Annual. Propagates by seeds. 
Time of bloom: June to July. 
Seed-time: August to October. 
Range: Massachusetts to Florida, along the coast; bottom lands 
of the Missouri River in South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, 
and northern Texas. : 
Habitat: Rich, moist soil; pastures and meadows. 
This plant is the cause of a sickness, called Crotalism by veterina- 
rians and Missouri Bottom Disease by the farmers, which is often 
fatal to horses and sometimes also to cattle, though deaths are less 
frequent with the latter than with horses. The poisonous principle 
is in both leaves and seeds, and is not dissipated by drying but seems 
to be even more potent in plants that have been harvested with 
