. The Indiana weed book. Weeds. WEEDS OF THE CHICORY FAMILY. 147 from Europe, reaching Massachusetts about 1863 and Indiana in 1884, since which time it has spread over the entire State. Each plant produces from 8,000 to 10,000 seeds, which by aid of the abundant pappus are wafted far and -wide by every passing breeze, and are ready to sprout and grow wherever and whenever the proper conditions of soil, moisture and temperature are present. The numerous prickles and bitter milky juice prevent all animals but sheep from feeding upon it. They eat it, especially the young ~ leaves, greedily and i
. The Indiana weed book. Weeds. WEEDS OF THE CHICORY FAMILY. 147 from Europe, reaching Massachusetts about 1863 and Indiana in 1884, since which time it has spread over the entire State. Each plant produces from 8,000 to 10,000 seeds, which by aid of the abundant pappus are wafted far and -wide by every passing breeze, and are ready to sprout and grow wherever and whenever the proper conditions of soil, moisture and temperature are present. The numerous prickles and bitter milky juice prevent all animals but sheep from feeding upon it. They eat it, especially the young ~ leaves, greedily and in pastures it can be kept down by them alone. Its most aggressive character is its ability to grow anywhere and everywhere that its seed can secure a covering of earth and so from crevices in gutters into which a little soil has drifted, '' from stone heaps, weed-choked corners of fences and yards, roadways and beaten paths it nourishes. But such poverty and ill usage are by no means essential factors to its success, for it also springs up in gardens, meadows and cultivated fields. Still the power to ex- tract sufficient moisture and food from compacted and sunbeaten earth, and thus to overtop competitors, and in the less favorable spots to grow where few plants could live, place it in the front rank of noxious an- nual weeds.' '* Remedies: repeated mow- ing before the seeds ripen; burning ma- ture plants: thorough cultivation. A closely allied species, the "strong scented lettuce" (L. virosa L., Pig. 107), is very common in clover fields. It dif- fers in having the leaves all entire and lanceolate, the prickles on midribs and edges shorter, and also in being a Mrinter annual, springing from the seed in au- tumn and reaching maturity in May or June of the next season. Both plants when cut or broken stool freely, sending up numerous spreading branches from the lower part, so that they must be cut with a hoe or pulled to prevent the ripen- ing of the ; Both a
Size: 1109px × 2254px
Photo credit: © The Book Worm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjectweeds, bookyear1912
