Ribgrass Or Narrow-leaved Plaintain In Fields Of Clover

A new country is comparalively fice frora weeds, but as Mie years pass by, one af'ter aoother, weeds are Introducecl. Tliey spring up in the lield, in the garden, in the door-yard and by the roadside. Most of thein find genial surroundirigs and rapidly multiply. ïhe farmer is not incliiied to adopl Émerson's notion of a weed as " a plant wliose virtues have not yet been discovered," at least he doesn't propose trying to fiud a use for tbem. In the words of Dr. Thurber: "Weeds seem to be naturally well provlded for distributlon, but the careless farmer sows thein broadeast by the hand ful, and doos what nature cannot do - he pide them in loeü prepared soil where they wlll be sure to grow. In the nionth of Marcb, hundreds of farmers will sow their clover. Next summer, or later, we shall have trom some of them letters and specimens, 'A new weed ha appeared in my field, or meadow, and threatens to kill out everything else. What is It and how hal] I get rid of it? Where did it come f rom? The answer will be: 'You carefully sowed it that cool March day witli your clover.' " Itibgrass or lance-!eaved plantain is becoming common to clover seed. While it is not the worst of weeds, the seeds are difflcult to seperate from those of the clover, and when present mnst injure the sale of the clover seed. Within a short time, I have heard of it in Laignsburg, Bmieroft. llubbardston, Grand Ledge, Detroit, LansiDg and perhaps in otlier places. Kven after being told all about the nature of thia weed, feveral farmers near Lansinfi:, last year inisted on purchasing and sowing on their own farms near Lansine, last year infested with ribgrass. I have twice been called as a witness in a lawsuit, where oue farmer had sold to his neighbor clover seed containing ribgrass. Plantago lanceolata L., Iiibgrass, rihworth Engtiêh plaintain, huckhorn ]lain has a perennial root, a rosette of narrow lea ves six to 10 inches long, acute at each end, an angled tlower stalk one to two feet high, bearing a cylindrical spike of flowers. The shining seeds are brown, oblong, concave on one skle, convex on the ,OMiei. a,....,,ioo urn frnihed cd att icbed to this bulletin. It is a native ofKurope, but hns extensively naturalized, especially in lawns and tb In old pastures. Nearly all kinds of stock eat the plaintain freely, especially while it Is young, and it is not frequently recommended as one of the mgredients for permanent pasture in Great liritam, but as it becomes older, stopk leave the plaintain to go to seed. The leaves spread close to the ground like those of the dandelion and thus exclude other plants. The stalks are slender, without leaves and aflbrd little fodder. Careful farmers who get this notice will do a favor by calllog the attention of their neighbors to the subject and help keep ribgrass out of their flelds. Projesxor oj Botany and foresln. Agricultura! Colleje, Mteh.,'Feb. 15, 1890.