I909-] 



Docks and Sorrels. 



383 



and form a new plant, while the part cut off will not 

 necessarily die, but, if left on the ground, may take root and 

 produce flowers and seed. The seeds are a too common im- 

 purity in grass and clover seeds, and Mr. Martin J. Sutton 

 says * that comparatively few samples of clover harvested in 

 this country are entirely free from dock seed. 



In grass land these species of dock must be attacked by 

 regular spudding, or by removal with the docking iron when 

 the ground is soft. The operation should take place well 

 before the flowering period is reached, and all parts or plants 

 removed should be burnt. It is the height of folly to throw 

 docks into the hedgerow or ditch, for they are practically 

 certain to live and produce seed in their new quarters. A 

 pinch of sulphate of ammonia placed on the cut surface of the 

 spudded docks will almost certainly destroy the root. The 

 fleshy roots of docks are so deep-seated that it is nearly impos- 

 sible to remove them completely, the result being that the 

 portion left grows again. 



Where arable land is infested with docks the best course is 

 to remove them bodily during the ordinary tillage operations, 

 deep ploughing being necessary, and they are frequently so 

 plentiful that special efforts must be made to collect them on 

 ploughing and harrowing after harvest, this autumn cleaning 

 being very beneficial. " Docking," or pulling up the docks 

 by hand, in connection with growing crops is a too common 

 necessity on the farm, but must be continued where docks 

 abound as long as the crop is not too tall to render it 

 impracticable. If a field is seriously infested with docks, the 

 shorter the rotation the better will be the chance of getting rid 

 of the weed. Seedlings should be eradicated by hoeing, and 

 it has been remarked f that "were the hoe used in the root 

 crops later in the year — in the autumn — seedling docks and 

 seedling couch, which become established after that time, 

 would have little chance of causing trouble." As in the case 

 of other weeds, the greatest care should be taken to obtain 

 only pure agricultural seeds, free from the seeds of docks. 



Sheep's Sorrel (Rumex Acetosella, L.) is a perennial dock 

 of small size — six to twenty inches in height — with a smooth, 

 slender, branched stem, and a much-branched, extensively- 



Permanent and Temporary Pastures, 1908. \ The Complete Grader. 



