B !' I 
AN 
IMPROVED & 
BUCKHORN 
AND A 
ETHOD OF SEPARATING 
FROM RED CLOVER 
PALFA SEEDS. 
INTRODUCTION. 
Many varieties of weeds are more or less commonly found in clover 
and alfalfa. Among these none is more common or more pernicious 
than li ii c k h o r n 
I Plantago la n ■ 
lata I., i . T li i s 
weed, \\ hich is also 
known as English 
plantain, rib-grass, 
and ribwort, is a 
perennial plant 
i fig. 1 I naturalized 
in this country 
from Europe. It 
fruits freely and 
can not be eradi- 
cated by mow ing 
because the lea \ es 
form a rosette close 
to the ground. 
T he seeds of 
buckhorn < fig. 2, 
b) are of the same 
general size, shape, 
weight, and color as 
those of red clover 
and alia I la (fig. •_>. 
a), and vary to 
ahoiii the same i s 
tent in these char 
acteristics. For this reason it has hitherto been found impracticable 
to separate the seeds of buckhorn from those of red clover and alfalfa 
Fig. 1. -Typical plant of buckhorn (Plantago lanceolata I. I. 
From "Farm Weeds in Canada," issued hy the Departmenl 
of Agriculture of the Dominion of Canada. 
i nder Instructions from Mr. Woods, Assistant Chief of Bureau, Mr. Shaw 
undertook to work out a satisfactory method of separating buckhorn seeds from 
[Clrc. 2] 
5 
