The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1901-06-06
The ''King's Devil'' Weed.

Hiram X. Morrell of Gardiner contrib
utes to the columns of the Maine Farmer
a valuable article, sounding the alarm
IN regard to peStlferOuS weed, ''king'S
Devil that has recently made it's APP
pearance in Maine, and advises that the
Agricultural Department of the State
be authorized to take immediate and Wig
orous measures for its determination.
Mr.. Morrell found this weed growing in
West Gardiner Litchfield and Oakland
in 1895, in Chelsea and at Togus later.
and on his own premises in the city of
Gardiner, last year. He thus describes
the weed:
"a single stalk with severa yellow
blossoms close together on tbs top of
the stalk, and no leaves on the stalk
and pale green leaves lying close to the
ground and largest at the outer end.
1t will live, thrive and grow anywhere.
One noticeable feature is that the heads,
before opening are dark, and look al
most black at a distance. ''Praeatum"
means very high or lofty" 1t is so
named because it has habit of keep
ing its stalk as high or higher than the
grass or weeds around it. 1t does not
intend to take any back seat or hide its
light under bushel. If one knows the
orange hawk weed, | should tell him
that the king-Devil to use Britton's
English name) is nearly like that, but is
a bright, light lemon yellow. The
leaves all lie on the ground. The real
stem runs along under the ground and
sends up lot of leaves, just as witch
grass does or as Strawberries do, except
that the strawberry runs on the ground.
There are several flowers mot quite as
large as the orange haWkweed all
clustered together, and the cluster
looks some like the single blossom of
a fall dandelion which around here is
very enormously called ''Arnica."
The plant spreads very fast from this
root and had the plant no other way of
spreading itself it would soon crowd
out all Others
Britton's Botany. published in 1873,
gives the following description:
"Hieracium Praealtum WILL King
Devll.-Stoloniferous or stolonS want
ing; stem glabrous, or somewhat hispid,
glaucous, slender, one and one-half to
three feet high, bearing one to three
leaves near the base. Basal leaves
tufted, narrowly oblong, lanceolate, or
spatulate, entire, obtuse or acute at the
apex, narrowed below into margined
petioles; hirsute with stiff hairs, two to
Aoesi 1iiSHSo loll Ill1CC W oCN Cll-lN Gil
inches wide; heads several or numerous,
corymbose, four to six-twelfths broad,
peduncles mostly short, pilose and
granular; involucre about three
twelfths inches high, it's bracts linear,
acute or acueminate, pilose and some
what glandular, intoxicated in about
two series; flowers yellow, achenes OBJ
long, truncate; pappas row of SLENDER
brownish bristles. In fields, meadows
and along woodsides, in north central
New York, locally, troublesome weed,
naturalized from Europe"
Mr.. Morrell says: Il doubt if it can be
extirpated. 1t blossoms before haying
and from three to five days are sufficient
to set the seeds flying. 1t blooms again
in the fall. The most effectual way
that | can conceive of killing it is to
NOW it before it fully blossoms, and
burn the hay on the ground where it
lies, then turn it under thoroughly. In
small lots pick the flowers and dig up
the roots, put salt on and burn them.
This last is etfectual, for it will kill the
King Devil and everything else. But
1t would be expensive on large field"