Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1901-10-17
Government Exhlbi. of weeds.

The exhibit of weeds and weed seeds
by the United States Department of
Agriculture is well worthy of mention.
To know them is the first step toward
keeping weeds in check. In the past
some of the most dangerous and
troublesome ones have spread over
whole townships before they were rec
ognized. The ignorance regarding the
identity of weeds is surprising. Science
has to large extent discovered the
easiest way of keeping each kind Of
weed in check The knowledge thus
gained is disseminated by the agrlcul-
tural press and by the station bulletins.
But what good does it do for man
to know how to treat weed IL ,Ie does
not know the weed when he sees ii?
Exhibits of weeds are therefore neces-
sary and are sure to be appreciated by
the men that want to learn.
The weeds exhibited at Buffalo are
growing in pots and comprise only the
most common kinds, among which the
writer noticed the following: Curled
dock, sorrel, rough pig weed, smart
weed, ragweed (ambrosia artemisoe-
folia), wild carrot caucus car
ota), lambsquarter, also called pig
weed (chenopodium album, plantain,
crabgrass, buckhorn (ripple), witch
grass, yellow foxtail, chess Cheat,
and mayweed.
Seeds OF weeds and OF our common
grasses were shown in open glass
bowls, closed glass tubes, and also I'M
der microscopes. A strong instrument
Of this kind was placed before every
kind of seed with sample under it
ready for inspection. This was done
for the purpose Of familiarizing the
visitors with the characteristics OF
each kind of seed. The samples were
of those most likely to be found in the
cultivated fodder plants and grasses.
There were seeds of the weeds men
toned above and in addition seeds Of
COW cookie, corn cookie, field dodder
oxeye daisy, yellow foxtail, green fox
tail pigeon grass, pepper grass and
trefoil. Among the seeds Of cultivated
81 uooCo "SiC luOSC vi NiONCi,
alfalfa, red clover, red top. beardless
bronze grass, Kentucky blue grass and
orchard grass.
1t is advisable for the farmer to
know all the seeds mentioned, as the
seeds of the grasses mentioned are
quite commonly rendered impure by
containing large amounts of the seeds
of the weeds mentioned. A dollar lens
in the hands of farmer familiar with
these seeds will make 1t possible to de-
tect the presence among commercial
seeds of obnoxious weed seeds. A gen.
eral knowledge of this kind would soon
render impossible the sale Of seed i'm
pure or adulterated. Yellow trefoil
seed is used extensively as an adul-
terant of clover seed, and 1t SO close
ly resembles the seed Of red clover
that the ordinary buyer of clover seed
is unable to distinguish II from clover
seed. But the microscope reveals some
distinguishing features. The clover
seed of whatever color has triangular
formation, with broadly rounded cor
ners. This triangular formation is not
likely to be noticed by the amateur I'M
less his attention be called to 1t. The
seed of trefoil, on the other hand, has
none of this formation. but is quite
fat and bean-shaped. Its color, too, is
more of the yellow order, and 1t does
not have the purplish cast as do many
of the seeds Of red clover. Moreover
it lacks the gloss. The man that finds
the seeds Of yellow trefoil in his clover
seed should know that 1t has been in
tentionally adulterated, as the yellow
trefoil has habits Of growth that make
it unlikely that its seed would get
mixed naturally with the seeds Of red
clover. When the seed Of yellow tre-
foil is thus found, the quantity is like
ly to be large. as some of the mixers
claim that as high as 80 per cent can
be mixed with red clover seed with
out detection by the purchaser.