Abstract
IN spite of the increased attention paid to grassland farming in recent years, there is still a vast area of permanent grass of poor quality, and since the reduction of weeds is intimately associated with the best means for securing its improvement, the issue by the Ministry of Agriculture of “Weeds of Grassland” (prepared by H. C. Long, and published by H.M. Stationery Office, price 5s. net), should prove of great value. At the outset, emphasis is laid on the necessity for using clean seed when sowing land down to grass, as injurious weeds are readily introduced, and instances of the special dangers in the case of the rye-grasses and clovers are cited. The principles in eradicating weeds from grassland are those which make for general improvement in the herbage, and in many cases attention to drainage, manuring, grazing, etc., rather than direct methods of destruction (though spraying is considered), will lead to the eradication of undesirable species. A large number of the worst weeds that occur on grassland are dealt with individually, classification being made according to the natural orders to which they belong. A. short botanical description, in which technical terms are so far as possible avoided, coupled with 92 illustrations (18 of which are coloured) from seeding to fruiting stages, renders identification a comparatively simple matter, and points of interest such as the association of a weed with certain soil conditions, its possession of poisonous or other special properties, as well as the best methods for its eradication, are given in each case.
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Weeds of Grassland. Nature 130, 993–994 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/130993c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/130993c0