300 UMBELLIFERAE (PARSLEY FAMILY) 
are shorter than the bristles on the carpels. These are in pairs, 
forming tiny, ovoid burs, bristling with prickly hooks, there being 
several of the burs in a cluster, ready at a touch from woolen 
garments or a sheep’s fleece to “catch on fora ride.” (Fig. 208.) 
S. marilandica, differing in that the styles are much longer 
than the bristles and recurved, is equally common and has a more 
extensive range from Newfoundland to Georgia and westward to 
the Rocky Mountains. 
Means of control 
Prevent the formation of seed by close cutting or pulling when 
in first bloom. 
POISON HEMLOCK 
Conium maculdatum, L. 
Other English names: Deadly Hemlock, Spotted Cowbane, Spotted 
Parsley, Poison Stinkweed, Wode Whistle, Herb of St. Bennet. 
Introduced. Biennial. Propagates by seeds. 
Time of bloom: June to July. 
Seed-time: August to September. 
Range: New England and Middle Atlantic States, westward to 
Michigan and: Indiana, southward to Virginia. Also in Cali- 
fornia and Louisiana. 
Habitat: Moist soil; waste places. 
All parts of this plant are exceedingly poisonous. Every year 
domestic animals are killed by eating its young leaves in the spring, 
children have died from mistaking its seeds for fennel or caraway, 
and the close resemblance of its leaves to those of parsley some- 
times is the cause of fatal poisoning. This is said to be the herb 
which furnished the “Cup of death” given to Socrates in Ancient 
Athens. The plant is used in medicine for diseases of the nervous 
system, and to supply the demands of the drug trade about thirty 
thousand pounds of its seeds and fifteen to twenty thousand pounds 
of its dried leaves are annually imported, at a cost of about three 
cents a pound for the seeds and four cents for the leaves. Probably 
the home-grown product would be as readily purchased if properly 
cured. (Fig. 209.) 
According to the fertility of the soil, the height of the plant varies 
from two to five feet. Stem smooth, erect, much branched, hollow, 
