r • > v; * 
 
 ■\ ‘ ' 1 ‘ I 
 
THE HHSSlil THISTLE. 
 
 A HKIKF ACCOIN'I' OF THE XKW I'EST OF Tnii XOItTIlWEST, 
 WITH AI'FltOVEI) METHODS OF C'OMIIATIXO IT, 
 
 AND COXT.VIXIXG THE 
 
 REPORT OF THE CACTUS COMMITTEE APPOINTED 
 BY THE GOVERNOR AT THE LAMOURE 
 MEETING, NOVEMBER 9, 189T 
 
 PL'HLISllKI) HV 
 
 NELSON WILLIAMS, 
 
 STATE C'OMMISSIOXEK OF AO It ICUETFK E AXD I.AHOIt, 
 FOU XOItTH DAKOTA. 
 
 APPR(,n'El): E. ('. I). SIIORTRIDGE, (JOVERXOR. 
 
 F.MtOO, X. D.: 
 
 IXDEl'EXDKX r IHTI. CO., FUIXIEltS .\ X D mXDIiltS, 
 
 iS9|. 
 
s:l 
 
 (aJ5^ 
 
\ 
 
 The Russian Thistle. 
 
 Or Russian Cactus. 
 
 The ravages of this plant in the southern counties of North 
 Dakota during the last year or two, its still greater havoc for several 
 years in South Dakota, its rapid spread to other territory, and the 
 practical iinpossibilitj’ of the production of the small grain cereals in 
 a district thoroughly infested by the weed, have caused no small 
 alarm among the wheat-raisers of the Northwest. Within the short 
 period of some sixteen or seventeen years from its first introduction 
 into Hon Homme county, now South Dakota, it has crossed that 
 entire State and reached nearly to the Northern Pacific Railway on 
 the north, crossed the Missouri river and spread rapidly in Nebraska 
 until it has infected about one-fourth of that State, while to the east¬ 
 ward it is found in many places in Minnesota, and even in Wisconsin. 
 Owing to the rarity of high winds from the east, the plant has not 
 spread greatly to the west. 
 
 During the autumn of 1893 the alarm among the citizens of 
 the southern counties of North Dakota became such that Governor 
 Shortridge was appealeil to to call a meeting to consider repressive 
 measures, while other petitions urged a special session of the Legis¬ 
 lature to appropriate money to aid the infected counties in extermi¬ 
 nating the pest. In compliance with the first-named request, the 
 Governor called a public meeting to be held at LaMoure on Novem¬ 
 ber 9, 1893, at which meeting a committee was appointed to make a 
 report to the Commissioner of .Agriculture and Labor, giving all 
 available information about the weed, the extent of the infected ter- 
 
 3 
 
.N 
 
 ritory, and the most approved methoils of comhatiii"- its further 
 spread and of eradicatinj>' it from infected lands. 
 
 This committee, after considerable time spent in gathtM-in<j 
 information, made its report on F'ehriiarv 17, 1S94, having in the 
 meantime sent through tlie (iovernor a memorial to Congress, urging 
 the passage of the Hansbrough hill, which proposes to appropriate 
 money from the National treasury to he expended under the direc¬ 
 tion of the Secretary of Agriculture in the effort to exterminate the 
 pest. 
 
 The I'eport of the Cactus committee to the Commissioner of 
 Agriculture and Labor is as follows : 
 
 l!i:i‘()|{T OK TIIK Kt’SSlA.X CACTI’S COM.MITTEK. 
 
 To the Honorable Commissioner of Agricnltnrc and Labor, State 
 
 of A^orth Dakota: 
 
 On the ninth day of No\emher, 1S93, ^ convention of the 
 citizens of North Dakota assembled in the town of LaMoure, bv call 
 of (Jovernor .Shortridge, for the i)urp()se of obtaining information 
 concerning the spread of a lecently intnxluced weed known as the 
 Russian cactus; and of devising if possible means and methods for 
 its ultimate destruction. 
 
 Hy direction of said com ention a committee of five, consisting 
 of Dr. ^i. F. Merchant,TIon. Lyman R. Casey, Hon'. 11 . H. 01 i\er, 
 j. M. Devine and \Vm. J. Dwyer, was appointed bv the Governor, 
 with instructions to collect all the facts and statistics bctiring upon 
 the spread of and ilamage caused by said cactus to the crop of 1893; 
 and further, to ascertain aiul devise methods which ha\ e been found 
 useful or are likely to prove successful in checking and exterminat¬ 
 ing the plant where now existing in the state; and to make a final 
 report of such information to the State Commissioner of Agriculture 
 and Labor; also, to draft a memorial to Congress soliciting National 
 aid. 
 
 The memorial was duly prepared and forwarded to the Go\-- 
 ernor for his appro\ al and final transmittal to Congress. 
 
 In the preparation of this report many delays have been en¬ 
 countered ; but I herewith transmit to vou such information as we 
 ha\ e been able to obtain from responses to inquiries sent out bv our 
 secretary, j. M. Devine, to the officials of the .several cactus infested 
 counties, together with other material facts obtained from competent 
 observers. 
 
 The plant so commoidy known as Russian cactus, or Russian 
 thistle, from its foreign origin and spinv nature, is not at all related 
 to the Cactaceae, but belongs to the Amaranih familv, of which our 
 tumble weed is a familiar representative. Its true botanical name is 
 Sa/sola kail, var. tragns, D. C., commonly known as saltwort, 
 from the abundance of alkaline salts the plant contains in its tissues. 
 
 4 
 

 The seed is a trifle larger than a millet seed, spirally coiled, 
 ami is not tenacious of life -cold, wet weather injuring its germinat¬ 
 ing powers. The plant is an annual, growing each year from the 
 seed, and it is not probable that it will germinate if exposed to the 
 weather after the first year. As the seed sprouts it unfolds its two 
 cotyledons, or seed leaves, which soon accpiire a reddish tint. In 
 this stage its growth is slow, it is exceedingly tender, and easily cle- 
 stroyed by cultivation. In a short time the plant strikes a deeper 
 root, throws out a whorl of several elongated, terete, leaf-like 
 branches, from an enlarged base, and now somewhat resembles a 
 seedling pine. The stems become streaked with purple or red- 
 which is also characteristic of the mature plant until killed by the 
 frost at the close of the season. Until the middle of July the plant 
 is smooth and succulent, and is readily eaten by cattle, sheep and 
 hogs—they will often prefer it even where other pasturage is 
 abundant. 
 
 About the midille of July the plant becomes more stiff and 
 spiny, and soon throws out numerous small, rose-colored, alternate, 
 sessile flowers, about one-eighth of an inch apart on the stem, in the 
 axils of three spiny leaflets or bracts. 
 
 The plant makes a rapid growth m grain fields after harvest, 
 beginning to mature its seeds about the lasti)f -August. It is now so 
 stiff and bristly Jhat no animal will willingly pass through it; and 
 \vhen it becomes necessary to use horses in such fields their legs 
 are often booteil or wound with cloth to jtrolect them from the 
 irritating effects of the cacti. 
 
 The natural habit of the plant is to a lateral more than to a 
 vertical growth, but will vary from slender specimens two inches in 
 height in crowded, unfavorable localities, to thrifty dome-shaped 
 masses six feet in diameter and weighing twenty-five pounds. As 
 soon as the plant is killed by the frosts the root cpiicklv decays, and 
 the plant is broken loose by the winds, rolling along over the prairies 
 for miles, scattering its innumerable seeds along its tiack. 
 
 The plant is supposed to have been introduced into lion 
 Homme county, .South Dakota, about fourteen years ago, in seed 
 grain brought from Russia, bv immigrants from the \ icinity of the 
 Black Sea ; and as the plant is very abuiulant in that locality it is 
 highl}' probable that it gained its Northwestern foothold from that 
 source—although a plant, Sa/so/a /ca/i, Lhntacus^ a native of Europe, 
 has long been naturalized along the sea coast of the Eastern Lbiiteil 
 .States. 
 
 The present geographical distribution of the Russian cactus 
 covers a large portion of the “Jim” River \’alley in .South Dakota, 
 exteiuling into North Dakota nearh' to the Northern Pacific Rail¬ 
 road, and east to the eastern confines of the state. Isolateil patches 
 are reported in at least three other states. -\t present about 4,000 
 square miles in North Dakota are so thickly infested with the weed 
 
 5 
 
~ ifti. ' • .*; r'-.' V]''. 
 
 as to become a serious menace to agriculture, and 6,000 square miles 
 more of the state are more or less invaded. 
 
 Reliable estimates from the counties infested although some¬ 
 what incomplete, as some localities where damage occurred were not 
 reported at the prevailing low prices of farm products, woidd indi¬ 
 cate a direct crop loss of more than one million.dollars for the vear 
 1S93 alone. The south half of the counties through which the 
 Northern I’acific Railroad passes have sustained no material loss to 
 the crop of 1S93. The counties of Dickey, Sargent and LaMoure 
 ha\ e suffered most; while southwestern Richlanil, southwestern 
 Ransom, central McIntosh, and southern Logan are next in line of 
 loss. The cro|5 loss in Dickey county, estimated by the county com¬ 
 missioners, is placed at thirty per cent; Sargent count}' is estimated 
 at twenty per cent; LaMoure, twenty per cent; McIntosh, twenty 
 per cent; while Richland county reports about 30,000 acres infested 
 with cacti, with a crop loss on this land of fifteen per cent. Much 
 of the land in the worst cacti tlistricts was not plowed last fall 
 because of the mechanical obstruction to machinery presented by 
 the weeds. 
 
 Lrom these estimates, which are undoubtedlv very conserva¬ 
 tive, it will be seen that the damage to the crop of 1S93 was 
 enormous ; and unless the coming season is more fa\ orable to the 
 rapid growth of the wheat plant than the past, the damage will be 
 even greater for if>94. 
 
 From information recei\'ed from different parts of the State, 
 the plant seems to be spreading with great and dangerous rapidity. 
 The rale of invasion of new territory in the open prairie is from 
 twent} -live to thirt}- miles per \ ear to the north, south and east, and 
 less ra]5iil to the west b\' reason of our moderate and infrequent 
 eastern wiiuls. Streams with high banks, fences and timber arrest 
 the rolling plants, and to some extent check their rapid spread. 
 
 The means adopted for subduing and exterminating the cactus 
 are \ arious, and about as numerous as the individuals clevising them. 
 It will suffice to mention only those which ha\ e proven, or are 
 likel} to ))ro\'e, successful. Where plants are few atid isolaletl, 
 careful jndling before maturity is effectual;. but where thev com- 
 pletel}' cover the ground, excluding every other plant, as they have 
 done in many localities, such a method is impracticable. In such 
 fields burning when dry, either in spring or fall, if well executed, is 
 \ery effectual. .Spring burning is best if the weather is favorable 
 and the ground is dry at the surface, as this destroys all seed blown 
 on the land during the winter. Hut often the spring is wet, and in 
 the vicinity of plowed fields dirt will be blown into the cacti mixed 
 with snow, which when melted leav es a covering of mud over the 
 seeds which have been scattered over the ground, and when the field 
 is burned the seeds are so protected that they are n{)t destroyed by 
 the heat. This also happens if the ground is very moist in the 
 
 6 
 

 sl)rin^^ i.ulcpciulcnt of drifted dirt. Fall \)urning has proven more 
 reliable in dense fields. 
 
 Hnrning ht' means of an iron harrow has been much used, h\ 
 attaching a team to the harrow hy a chain and keeping a continual 
 lire under the harrow as it is draggetl along. 1 his has not proven 
 verv satisfactory, probably owing to the fact that the scatteid seeds 
 were not destroyed, besides many seeds \^'ere rattled out b% the 
 harrow and fell niton the ground to germinate. 
 
 Mowing the stubble, raking, burning and plowing immediately 
 after harvest, before the seeds have matured, is one of the best 
 methods of clearing the ground ; but the large areas cultivated, with 
 the pressure t)f other wrtrk at this season, pre\'cnts this custom frttm 
 becoming universal. iSlillet or other forage crops cut caily would 
 allow time for plowing before harvest, f.ate summer fallowing, 
 from the loth to the 15th of July, clearing the ground of all plants 
 and harrowing in earl\' spring to insure germination of all seed, will 
 also completel\' clear the ground. Ifut no matter how thoiough the 
 work, rolling plants will be blown o\'er the fields t a portion of the 
 dried blossom adheres to the seed, exposing a larger surface to the 
 wind, and they w ill blow over the ground drifting along _ with the 
 snow, completely re-seeding the most carefully prepaied fields. In 
 a cubic foot of drifted snow near a fieUl of cacti 32 seeds were found, 
 30 of which aitpeared capable of germination. 
 
 If all cultivated farms were well fenced, or all plants large 
 enough to roll were yearly destroyecl, this great and vexatious prob- 
 lenf would be solved. Our nati\'e grasses will entiiely cxteiminate 
 the cactus, abundant pr{>of of which can be seen in many once cidti- 
 vated but now abaiuloned fields where the eautus has completely 
 disappeared. No native prairie should be broken without first 
 burning off the grass, as the ground is co\ ered with cactus seeds 
 which will be lar'gelv destroycxl by burning it over. 
 
 If fields are to be sown known to be infected with cacti, in¬ 
 creasing the amount of seed ])er acre has been producti\ e of gootl 
 residts t but no more land should be worked than can be well cai etl 
 
 h>''- -11 
 
 Roadsides, railroad embankments, gopher mounds, firebreaks, 
 new breaking, earl\‘ summer-fallowing, neglected tree claims, and 
 poorly cultivated potato aiul corn fields produce nearly all the plants 
 which attain sulficient si/e to roll. A systematic and thorough 
 destruction of these rollers must be enforced ; and all stubble ui 
 other fields containing smaller cacti should be burned to prevent the 
 detached seed blowing and drifting during the winter. An old 
 picket rope saturated with petroleum, and drawn across the head of 
 the field with a favorable wind, is said to be an effectual method of 
 firing them. When the stubble fields cannot be burned it would be 
 ad\ isable to mow, rake and burn the cacti, i'eserving the ground for 
 summer fallow or late spring plow ing. Flowing under the mature 
 cacti in the fall has often resulted in the complete loss of the follow- 
 
iiifj crop. It IS seldom that the warmth and moisture are sufficient 
 to sprout the seeds after hein<j plowed under in the fall, as the stiff 
 brush of the plant prevents the soil settlin}^ toj^ether, thereby leavino- 
 air spaces vvhich preserve the seeds in w-ood condition to sjerminate 
 the following spring; and unless such ground is early seeded and 
 the season is extremely favorable the cacti will soon smother out 
 every particle of gram. Late spring plowing, after the cactus seeds 
 ia\e sprouted, has been more satisfactory. Early seeding is advisa- 
 hles on ground prepared the previous season. All plants attaining 
 Jr.ufficient size to oreak loose and roll before the winds should he de¬ 
 stroyed during the month of August, or before the seeds mature. 
 
 (Organized, systematic effort by counties and townshiiw in 
 every part of the .State where this invader has made its appearance, 
 IS absolutely necessary; and such efforts will undoulitediv prove suc¬ 
 cessful if properly directed. 
 
 Ihc Session I.aws of i8pi. Chapter 91, .Sections 1, 2, ci and 4 
 are adequate, clear and e.xplicit in their provisions; and a crisis has’ 
 now arrived when a judicious and scrupulous enforcement of e.\istin<>- 
 statutes by every county and township board should he regarded as 
 their most imperative executive duty. 
 
 Respectfully stihmitled this 1 7th day of February, 1S94. 
 
 M. F. MKliC'IIANT, 
 
 C.‘h;iinniin 
 
 In addition to the territory mentioned in the foregoiim reoort 
 quite a large tract of land is said to be covered by the cactus'’ in Mc- 
 flenry comity, near the Mouse river. Southeastern Ihirleigh is also 
 quite badl^ affected, and doubtless others. 
 
 The law referred to in 
 report is as follows, t iz : 
 
 the 
 
 last paragrajih of the foregoing 
 
 NOXIOUS WEEDS. 
 
 CHAPTER 
 
 91. 
 
 I’KESfHIHIM; .MAWIill ()|. DES'lltO \ I NOXIOUS WEEDS. 
 
 .■\X -\CT for the Destruction of Noxious Weeds, Providimr Pen¬ 
 alties for the Violation of the Same, and for the Repeal of 
 An Act Entitled “An Act to Prevent the Spread of Noxious 
 U eedsmthe lerritory of Dakota,” (ieneral Laws of i8Ss 
 Supplement, Dakota Territory, and An Act Entitled “An Act 
 to Amend .Secdon i, (Rmeral Laws of 1885, Supplement, 
 Relating to Noxious Weeds, Chajiter 102, Session Laws 
 of 1090. 
 
/A- it Enacted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Xorth 
 
 Dakota: 
 
 Skction I. Noxious 'Wickds DEuixEn Maxnek ok 
 Destkoving to he Pit eschihei). ] Every person anti everv 
 corporation shall destroy upon all lands, which any such person o'r 
 corporation shall own or occupy, all weeds of the kind known as 
 Canada thistle, cockle burr, mustard, wild oats (Avena fat/nr), 
 !• rench weed and Russian cactus (Salso/a kali^ var. tragns), ni 
 such time and in such manner as shall effectually prevent their bear¬ 
 ing; seed. Such time and manner of destroying such weeds shall be 
 prescribed by the board of county commissioners, and the same shall 
 be published at least two weeks in some newspaper in the coimtv, 
 not less than two weeks before the time so prescribed ; Provided, 
 further. That if there be no newspaper published in the coimtw 
 then written notices of the same shall be posted, the same as election 
 notice^i are posted in lieu of such publications. 
 
 Sec. 2. Decision TO HE PuHEiHiiED.] ft shall be the dutv 
 of the board of county commissioners,at their regular meetings in - Vpril 
 of each year, to determine the time and manner of destroving such 
 noxious weeds and shall cause such decision to be publisiied as 
 provided in .Section i of this act. They shall also cause to be 
 mailed to the chairman of each board of township supervisors and 
 to every overseer of highways and road supervisor in the county a 
 copy of their proceedings. 
 
 Sec. 3. \\’itEN OvEitsKEHS SiiAi.i, Desthov T.\x 
 Against Land.] W henever any individual, firm or corporation, 
 owning or occupying any lands within this state, shall neglect or 
 refuse to comply with the provisions of this act for more than ten 
 da^ s after the time prescribed by said board of county commissioners, 
 then it shall be the duty of the overseer or road supervisors, as the 
 case ma}' be, to proceed forthwith to destroy the same in the manner 
 prox ided for said destruction by the board of county commissioners ; 
 it shall also be the duty of such overseers or road supervisors to 
 ilestroy all such noxious weeds that may grow on the highways ami 
 school sections and timber culture claims of his road district, and for 
 so doing such o\ erseer or road supervisor shall have such compensa¬ 
 tion, payable out of the township treasurv or countv treasurv, as the 
 township board of supervisors or board of county commissioners, 
 upon presentation of his account thereof, verified bv his oath and 
 specif3ing b\’ separate items the charges on each piece of land, 
 describing the same, shall deem reasonable, and the respective 
 accounts so paid, except for the destruction of such weeds upon the 
 highwaj’s, shall be placed on Uie next tax roll of the township or 
 countv’, as the case ma\' be, in a separate column, headed “For 
 destruction of weeds,” as a tax against the said land upon which 
 such weeds were destroyed and be collected as other taxes, and the 
 entry of such tax on the tax roll shall be conclusive evidence of the 
 liability of the land so taxed to such tax. 
 
 9 
 
Sec. 4. Pen alty.] Whenever an}- overseer of hijf|i\vay.s 
 •(')r road supervisors shall neglect or refuse to comply with the pro¬ 
 visions of this act, after having received notice as provided for in 
 •Section 3 of this act, lie shall be subject to a fine of liftv (50) dollars, 
 aiul it is hereby made the duty of the states attorney to enforce the 
 provisions of this act. 
 
 .Sec. 5. Repe.vl.] That an act entitled “An act to prevent 
 the spread of noxious weeds in the Territory of Dakota,” General 
 Laws of 1S85, Supplement and Chapter io3. Session Laws of 1S90, 
 relating to noxious weeds, be and the same is hereby repealed. 
 
 Sec. 6. Emekciency.] Inasmuch as there is no provision 
 for the destruction of noxious weeds, and many of said weeds will 
 go to seed before Julv ist, therefore this act shall take effect and be 
 lin force from and after its passage and approi al. 
 
 Approved March 6, 1891. 
 
 NATIONAL AID EXPFX'TED. 
 
 A measure is now pending in the United States Senate which 
 if enacted will make adequate provision for National aid in extermin¬ 
 ating this pest, similar to the aid furnished by tbc General Govern¬ 
 ment in stamping out pleuro-pneumonia among cattle which was 
 recentlv accomplished. Concerning the proposed law and the weed 
 to be exterminated, the following extracts from a letter by Mr. 
 I'rederick V. Coville, Botanist of the Department of Agriculture at 
 Washington, will be read with interest : 
 
 A study of this question for the past two years b}- the De- 
 jiartment of Agriculture shows conclusi\ cly that the progress of this 
 weed can be stopped only by uniform concerteii action during the 
 ■same season or seasons over the whole infested area. The faets at 
 present in haivd show also that the progress of the Russian thistle is 
 rapid, and that if any determined action is to be taken against it it 
 ■may be <lone far more economically in the immediate future than 
 after the expiration of a few years. It is undoubtedh' true that if 
 the progress of the weed is not stojjped the damage caused by it in 
 future years will annually reach $25,000,000. # # * 
 
 After a careful survey of the whole (piestion of exterminating the 
 Russian thistle, I am convinced that b\- such a law as that already 
 introduced in the .Senate, * * and by an energetic execu- 
 
 •tion of this law by the Department of Agriculture, in co-operation 
 with the State Jaws and .State authorities, the weed would be either 
 exterminated or so nearly blotted out as to be easily managed there¬ 
 after by local authorities. # # * * 
 
 The Russian thistle is peculiar in some respects, especially in 
 the fact that it fails to mature its seed until about the 15th of August 
 dn the southern part of its range, and about the ist of Septendier in 
 the northern part.. This, in connection with the fact that it is an 
 
annual, offers a better protnisc of success in conteiulin^ with it tban 
 is offered bv any other of our pernicious weeds. The damage 
 already done by the Russian thistle is without question slight in 
 comparison with the damage which will he done by it if its progress 
 is not soon checked. It is a weed peculiarly adapted to the great 
 wheat-raising portion of the United States, and its adyent is ominous 
 of an oyerwhelming calamity to that region. 
 
 Our State law. Chapter 91 ahoye quoted, is fully adequate so , 
 far as any .State enactment can he, and is, so far as the writer has 
 seen, the best law possessed by any of the States on the subject. 
 All that is needed is to rigidly enforce it in all its pro\ isions; and if 
 the proposed National law is enacted and approyed by the President, 
 to cordially co-operate with the Oeneral (joyernment in all its efforts 
 to eradicate the weed, ^^'hile it is not probable that this .State alone, 
 •or even in co-operation with other states, can exterminate the pest, 
 so long as large tracts of goyernment land, often once cidti\ ated but 
 now abandoned and oyergrown with thistle, act as a constant source 
 •of supply ; our people can neyertheless check the spread of the weed, 
 eradicate it from their own lands, and by constant yigilance keep it 
 confined largely to abandoned or waste lands until such time as 
 National aid may be secured to completely wipe it out of existence. 
 Where a single plant will produce from 10,000 to 13,000 seeds, and 
 often scyeral times that number, it will be readily seen that a few 
 tlollars judiciously expended now by eyery locality will haye better 
 effect than hundreds or thousands expeiuled two or three years hence. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PLANT. 
 
 At the risk of repeating the matter contained in the report of 
 the Cactus Committee, it is thought best to giye the following 
 technical botanical description of the jilant, as giyen by L. II. Dewey, 
 of the Department of Agriculture at Washington, for lUilletin No. 
 31, lately issued by the Agricultural Experiment Station of 
 Nebraska; lliis technical description to be followed by a popidar one 
 from the same Bulletin the object being to make its description so 
 clear that the plant will not fail lo be recognized, and its destruction 
 thereby better secured. Dr. Dewey's description is as follows: 
 
 TKCIINIC.VI. DKSCH Il' I IOX. 
 
 ‘•^Sa/so/a kali A. var. Iruj^us P.C. I’rod. .\lll. 2, 187 
 Herbaceous, annual, diffusely branching from the base, usually 
 densely bushy at maturity, .3 to i m. high and twice as broad. 
 
smuotli or slijjhtly hispid ; root simple, dull white, slightly twisted 
 near the apex ; leaves alternate, sessile ; of the young plant decidu¬ 
 ous, succulent, linear or suhterete, 3 to 6 cm. long, spinv-pointed, and 
 with narrow, denticulate, membranaceous'margins near the base; 
 leaves of mature plant persistent, each subtending two leaf-like 
 bracts and a flower, at intervals of 2 to 10 mm., rigid, narrowlv ovate, 
 often denticulate near the base, spiny-pointed, usually striped with 
 red like the branches, 6 to 10 mm. long; bracts divergent, like the 
 leaves in size and in all respects hut position ; Howers solitarv and 
 sessile, perfect, apetalous, about 10 jnm. in diameter; calyx mem¬ 
 branaceous, persistent, enclosing the depressed fruit, usually rose 
 colored, gamosepalous, cleft nearly to the base into live unecpial 
 divisions about 4 mm. long, the upper one broadest, the two next the 
 subtending leaf next in size and the lateral ones narrow, each with a 
 heak-like, connivent apex, and bearing midway on the hack a mem¬ 
 branaceous, striate, erose-margined wing about 3 mm. long, the upper 
 and two lower ones much broader than the lateral ones; stamens 5, 
 about equaling the calyx lobes; pistil simple; styles 2, slender, about 
 1 mm. long; seed 1 ,obconical, depressed, about 2 mm. in diameter, dull 
 gray or grean, exalbuminous, the thin seed coat closely co\ ering the 
 spirally-coiled embryo; embryo about 12 mm. long with 2 terete 
 cotyledons.” 
 
 I’OftU.AK DESCKII'IION. 
 
 More or less spherical in shape, and consisting of many elon¬ 
 gated branching twigs which grow outward and upward from the 
 root. \\ hen not (juite mature the whole plant has a reddish color, 
 but as its seeds ripen it bleaches out and eventually is almost white. 
 Well-grown specimens are from two to three feet in diameter, but 
 where crowded together they may be much less. Each twig and 
 branch is covered on all sides by haril, stout prickles, which are very 
 sharp and very irritating to the touch. These prickles are in threes, 
 that is, there are three together in a place and pointing in different 
 directions. .Vt the upper side of the base of each three prickles 
 there is a seed, and as there are about ten of these to each inch it is 
 easily seen that the seeds produced by every well-grown plant must 
 reach a great many thousands. Late in the fall and in the early part 
 of \vintcr the root breaks off and the plant is free to roll away with 
 i s freight of seeds. 
 
 'J'iie young plant, which appears in May and June, docs not 
 sugge-t to the farmer anything of its final form and harmfidness. It 
 
is then a soft, smooth, and innoccnt-lookiiifj plant, with narrow, 
 fleshy leaves an inch lon<f. It blossoms in July and Au<ifust, anil its 
 seeds mature in September and October. 
 
 The seeds' are aViout a twelfth to a sixteenth of an inch in 
 diameter, of a dull-<jrayish or <;reenish-<jray color. When the thin 
 coverin';; is rubbed off from them they are seen to have a spiral 
 structure. 
 
 The report of the Secretary of Agriculture for 11592, pajic 
 2 1^, <jives the followin'^ concerniiifj the plant: 
 
 “The Russian thistle <jrows best on high, dry land. The 
 plants are less numerous and robust in wet than in dry seaifons, not 
 because they cannot stand wet weather, but because they are more 
 crowded by other plants. The thistle appears to grow cquallv well 
 in alkaline and non-alkalinc soils. The absence .of trees and fences, 
 the strong winds, and the methods of farming followeil in the 
 Northwest are particular!)' favorable to its ilistrlhution and growth. 
 Wheat is sowed over acre after acre, sometimes merelv drilled in on 
 the furrow, or even on unplowed stubble land, ^\'here whole 
 sections and e\ en townships form one continuous wheat flekl, an 
 acre here and there so grown up to weeds as not to Vie worth har\ est- 
 ing, does not seem to be of much importance ; hut it is in such places 
 that the principal development of thistle seeds for the suceeeding 
 year takes place. Plowing in the spring or earlv summer is espec¬ 
 ially fa5 orahle to the growth of the Russian thistle, since it then 
 obtains a thorough foothold in July, and, being able to stand drv 
 weather better than other plants, takes comjrlete possession of the 
 soil. 
 
 The following remedies are recommended : Plow in .\ugust 
 or early September, before the weeds have grown large and stiff, 
 and before they ha\e gone to seed. If the season be long and the 
 plants come up through the furrow, it may l)e necessarv to harrow 
 the land before winter. Burn over stubble lields as soon as possi¬ 
 ble after harvest, and cut the stid>ble with a mowing machine if the 
 fire does not burn everything clean. If the weeds have been neg¬ 
 lected and have grown large and rigid, as thev do bv the middle of 
 September, especially on neglected barren fallow, thev mav be raked 
 into windrows anil burned. This method is to be reeommended onl\ 
 as a final resort, for bv the last of September some of the seed w ill 
 be ripe enough to shell out and will escape being burned with the 
 plants. Barren fallowing does ver) well if the land is kept barren 
 
by tlioroiigh cultivating. It gives but little benetit to the laiul, how¬ 
 ever. A much better method is to sow clover, millet, or rye, pasture 
 it and plow it under while green. Corn, potatoes, beets, or any 
 cultivatetl crop, well taken care of, will in two years rid the land not 
 only of the Russian thistle but of nearly all other weeds. Sheep- 
 are very fond of the plant until it becomes too coarse and woody.. 
 By pasturing sheep on the young thistle it may be kept down, and 
 tbe only valuable quality the plant has may be utilized. If the Rus¬ 
 sian thistle is to be kept out of cultivated fields, it must be extermi¬ 
 nated also along the roatisides. railroad grades, fire-breaks, waste- 
 laiul, wherever the sod has been broken, and in all places where it 
 may obtain an accidental foothold.” 
 
 SUMMARY OF SU(9GESTED REMEDIES. 
 
 1. Be careful that you do not sow Russian thistle seed with 
 \’our crops, and especially look out for flax and millet seed that has 
 been grown in proximity to thistles, as it is liable to contain thistle 
 seeds. 
 
 2. Let the people of every locality heartily co-operate to 
 prevent any thistles going to seed, either in their cultivated fields or 
 in waste lands or on the roadsides. 
 
 3. Cultivate all land infested with the weed until the first of 
 August, after which time it will not have time to grow and ripen 
 its seeds. 
 
 q. If by any means any weeds are allowed to go to seed, pull 
 or cut them carefidly, witln)ut shattering out the seeds, and then 
 burn them ; and then look out for that locality the next year, and 
 promptly ])ull or cut all weeds that appear. 
 
 5. Lands infested with thistles may be pastured with sheep, 
 and the growth thus kept down ; but do not depend on the sheep 
 alone, as they will not eat all the weeds, and some will go to seed ; 
 but by so pasturing the labor of destroying the weeds mav be much 
 reduced. 
 
 6. Co-operate fully atid cheerfully witlv the officers of the 
 law in all efforts to suppress this weed. 
 
 7. Blowing under the weeds before they become stiff and 
 woody, cutting them witli a mowing machine, pulling those in scat¬ 
 tered places, carefully burning all that may be found with seed 
 
formed — and all other methods of destruction must be-called'into use. 
 
 S. Familiarize all people with the plant, place a sample iiii 
 everv school house, in the business places of the village, labeled,, 
 with directions for every plant seen by everybody to be destroyed. 
 
 9. A fence will stop the rolling of most of the weeds upon, 
 land from the outside. A strip of sunflowers will do the same. 
 
 10. Endeavor to put in all small grain in the best condition! 
 possible, that the grain may have a good chance to grow and get the- 
 start of the thistle; and if unable to put grain in the ground in 
 good condition, it will be better to let the land lie idle and plow itii 
 summer so as to kill the thistle. 
 
 DUTY OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND 
 TOWNSHIP SUPERVISORS. 
 
 (Chapter 91 of the Laws of 1891, quoted in full in this pam¬ 
 phlet, gives ample power to these oflicers to provide for the sup¬ 
 pression of this weed and its extermination. V’igorous action is 
 strongly urged, and at once. Do not let disinclination to expend a 
 few dollars this season result in seeding your county or township 
 with this weed, the eradication of which will cost the people many 
 hundreds in future years. All are urgently recommended to proceed 
 as economically as possible — do not waste or unnecessarily expend a 
 penny — but by all means make thorough work of e.xterminating this- 
 weed. Notify all non-residents that they must keep their lands, 
 clean, and if they or residents do not do so, see that the work is 
 thoroughly done and the cost taxed against the lanil. See that the 
 highways and public places are kept clean at public expense. 
 
 If the law' is passed giving National aid, heartily co-t>perate 
 with the agents of the Department of Agriculture for the eradicationi 
 of the pest; but if this bill is not passed by Congress, ilo not be dis¬ 
 couraged and let the matter drop. But do all in your power to pre¬ 
 vent thistles from maturing seed on Government land, tree-claims,, 
 school sections, etc. 
 
 The services of the State Department of Agriculture and 
 Labor may be commanded at any time for any assistance it can, 
 render. 
 
 Note. — Since this was written Prof. Holley reports that he has received! 
 specimens of the plant from Park River, Walsh County, accompanied with 
 the statement that the plant is to he found growing quite plentifully in that 
 region. 
 
V 
 
i 
 
 Plate I._Reprcsents the full-grown Russian Thistle (Sahola kali var. tragus), after It has matured in the fall. 
 
Pi.ATK II. — HeprestMils a brunch of the Russian 'rhistle after maturity. 
 
ri.ATK III.—This represents nne of the iniinv branches of the plant as it appears in autumn 
 after maturity. («) Uepresents a braneli (if tile young piant, soft ami teiuler. (4) Repre¬ 
 sents a mature, ripened seed, consideraldy enlarged 
 

Plate I\' — Ueproscnts a branch of Ihc Russian 'riustli! after it has become nearly j?ro\vn, but before it l^ccomes 
 
 IT 
 
 stiff, spiny and wamdy. {«) Represents a section of a branch shc.wing spines which inclose the young fleowr 
 parts. (^) Represents the coiled einbryo or yovmg plant of the seed after the thin coveiing is rubbed awavJ 
 (c) Represents the blossom, (tf) Represents one of the spines, somewhat enlarged in the drawing, (c) oifl 
 of the petals of the llower enhirged. 
 
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