- 10 - 
always be found, at least towards the base of the plant, together with 
the lighter color and early maturity, will serve to distinguish it. The 
winged pigweed, Cyclolomaplatyphyllum Moq. [Plate VI.], bears resem¬ 
blance to the Russian thistle only in its compact, globular form of 
growth ; its leaves are flat, its branches slender ; it has no spines, and 
the whole plant is light green in color; these characters should separate 
it without difficulty. The third plant is the sea-blite, Suseda depressa 
Watson; the large forms of this species, seen at a little distance, 
show rather a striking resemblance to the Russian thistle, but, as in 
the other cases, the leaves and spines serve as a ready means of rec¬ 
ognition. The sea-blite is not at all spiny, and its leaves, while of 
the same general shape, are larger and thicker than in the Russian 
thistle. 
How can the Russian thistle be held in check or eradicated ? 
The plant, being an annual, is perpetuated from season to season 
only througii the seed. The crop of any year depends entirely upon 
the seed produced the previous year. It will, therefore, be apparent 
that effort must be directed towards preventing the formation and 
dissemination of seed. It is only a question of how this can best be 
accomplished. There is no probability that the plant will die out of 
itself; the growth and multiplication within the short time the plant 
has been with us shows that our climatic conditions are favorable to 
its development, and makes it plain that nothing but active and 
persistent warfare will rid us of it. Work should be commenced at 
once and continued as long as plants can be found. Later than 
September 1st, all plants pulled should be burned, in order to insure 
the complete destruction of such mature seeds as they may bear. 
Every plant destroyed in the fall will lessen by so much the work 
that must be done another season. For spring-sown grain the 
ground should be prepared and the seed sown as early as possible; hav¬ 
ing the ground occupied by a crop will, in a measure, check the growth 
of the weed. Infested grain fields should be harvested early, because 
the earlier the w'eed is cut the more succulent it is and the less trouble 
it will give in handling the grain. Plowing immediately after harvest 
is recommended as a further means of destructiou. Where hoed 
crops are to occupy the ground there need be no trouble, if reason¬ 
able attention is given to cultivation. Clean culture should be given 
until the first of August, or later, if possible. Weeds springing up 
after that date will not usually mature seed, and hence are only bad 
in their effect on the present crop. 
Any thrifty farmer can, by a little extra effort, free his culti¬ 
vated land from the Russian thistle, but, if he stops at this, he must 
repeat the same effort every year. The borders of fields, fence cor¬ 
ners, ditch banks, and waste places which are sure to be found on 
-every farm must, so far as weeds are concerned, receive the same atten¬ 
tion he would bestow upon his clultivated land ; if they are neglected 
