Agriculture of Maine Volume 14, PT. 1869; Annual Report of the Secretary of the Maine Board of Agriculture (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1870 Excerpt: ...When bruised the plant exhales a strong and disagreeable odor. 64. Golden Ragwort--Squaw-weed--Senecio aureus. Root perennial. Stem one to two feet high, branched, striate. Leaves one to three inches long, varying in form on the different varieties; petioles, or leaf-stalks of the radical leaves one to seven inches long; stem leaves sessile or partly clasping. Heads many flowered, with yellow rays. The Golden rag-wort is often found in abundance in low meadows. It is a worthless though probably not a troublesome weed. There are many varieties. 65. Common Thistle--Cirsium lanceolatum. Altogether too common to need a description. The flowers are purple iu erect terminal heads which are about an inch in diameter. The plant is sometimes called Bull Thistle. It is an introduced plant from Europe, very common by the roadsides and in pastures. The seeds, if allowed to mature, are disseminated far and wide by the winds. "During the first year of its growth a cut with the hoe, or a table spoonful of salt applied to the crown of the plant will destroy it." American Agriculturist.) It is biennial, and produced only from seed. 6C. Canada Tbistlr--Cursed T.--Cirsium arvense. Rhizoma or root-stalk perennial, creeping horizontally six inches to six feet below the surface of the ground, and sending up numerous erect branches. Stem one to three feet high, slender and smoothish, branched above. Leaves oblong or lancelot, prickly-margined. Heads much smaller than tho preceding, numerous. Flowers rose purple. This is no doubt the worst weed with which the farmer has to contend, and like most of our troublesome weeds, was brought from Europe. About two hundred years ago a Scotchman brought some of the seeds to Canada, and sowed them in his garden; in due time some see...