292 Identification and Eradication of Weeds, [july, 



Spurrey. 



Spurrey, Corn Spurrey, Sandweed, Yarr or Pickpurse \ 

 (Spergula arvensis, L.) must be reckoned as one of the farmer's 

 most troublesome pests on light sandy soils, where it too often I 

 occurs in overwhelming quantity. Spurrey is usually con- j 

 sidered as typical of light sandy soils and as an indication i 

 of the absence of lime, is an annual, and produces seed in j 

 abundance. The seed germinates readily and may give rise j 

 to seedlings an inch high in a week, and thereafter growth is 

 rapid, and unless something be done seed is quickly ripened ! 

 and scattered. The weed may invade corn crops, roots, and j 

 clover fields, and if plentiful may practically suppress spring jj 

 and summer sown crops. 



Over a hundred years ago William Pitt wrote of this weed : 

 "As it is of humble growth, I have never observed it to be 

 very injurious to a crop ; but Dr. Anderson observes, that in 

 Aberdeenshire it is a pernicious weed, growing in such 

 abundance among the crops as to choke the grain ; he has j 

 seen it so thick that over a vast extent of surface you could 

 not have put down a pin without touching a plant, and the | 

 farmers there think it indestructible." * 



Seed. — The seeds of spurrey (Fig. 3, a) are dull black, 

 round; and somewhat flattened, or lens-shaped, and are sur- 

 rounded with a narrow, flat wing of a pale brown colour, 

 while the surface is rough with minute greyish-brown or 

 yellowish papillae. They are '03 to '05 in. (o*8 to 1*36 mm.) 

 in diameter, and '035 in. (o"88 mm.) in thickness, and Harz 

 states that 200 large seeds weigh 0*1637 grams, equal to 

 597,000 per pound. They occur occasionally in European 

 clover and grass seeds. 



Seedlings. — In the seed-leaf stage (Fig. 3, b) the root is 

 small and fibrous in character. The hypocotyl is whitish to 

 very light green, cylindrical and smooth. The cotyledons 

 are smooth and shiny, linear, cylindrical, fleshy, and light 

 green in colour ; they are at first small, but grow considerably 1 

 — from J in. to i\ in. (8'5 to 31*5 mm.) in length. 



In the next stage (Fig. 3, c) the cotyledons are 1 in. or over j 



* William Pitt : " On the Subject of Weeding ; or the Improvements to be 

 effected in Agriculture by the Extirpation of Weeds." — Communications to the 

 Board of Agriculture^ Vol. V, 1806. 



