P U B L I S H ED  F I VE  T I M ES  Y E A R LY  A ND  D I S T R I B U T ED  F R EE 

TO  L O V E RS  OF  B E A U T I F UL 

T U RF 

Vol.  VI 
No. 2 

KNAWEL 
Other  Names—German  Knot-Grass. 
Annual  and  Winter  Annual—Propa-

gates  by  seeds. 

Seed  Time—May  to  November. 
Range—Eastern  United  States  and 
Canada  from  Quebec  to  Florida  and  as 
far  inland as  Ohio. 

Habitat 

— 
Lawns,  gardens 
and  along  road-
ways. 

just 

Here  is  a  per-
sistent  little  weed 
and 
incon-
spicuous  enough 
to  gain  headway 
before 
its  pres-
ence  is  observed. 
It  blooms  and 
produces  seeds 
from  early spring 
until 
late  fall. 
The  seeds  of 
Knawel are abun-
dant  and 
long 
lived.  If  undisturbed  in the soil they will 
retain  their  vitality  for  several  years. 

The  roots  of  Knawel  are  tough  and 
fibrous.  They  send  up  a number  of  slen-
der,  light  green, 
fork-branched  stems 
which  are  from  three  to  six  inches  long. 
These  stems, as the  illustration  indicates, 
spread  in  all  directions.  Usually  the 
stems  are  hairy  yet  sometimes  smooth, 

March-April 

1933 

some  erect  and  some  prostrate.  The 
leaves  are  quite  small,  awn-shaped,  and 
approximately  one-third  inch  in  length. 
The  seeds  are 
light,  straw  colored, 
pointed  at  one  end  and  diverging  into 
five points  at the  other. 

During  the  year  1932  we  received 
more  specimens  of  Knawel  for  identifi-
cation  than  during  the previous  three.  It 
may  have been a season  peculiarly  favor-
able to its growth 
or  it may  be  that 
lawns  in  general 
are being watched 
more  closely  for 
weeds  of 
all 
kinds. 

CONTROL  OF 

KNAWEL. 
I n  d i v i d u al 
plants  are  easily 
removed  with  a 
spud or trowel.  It 
is also  possible  to 
destroy  them  by 
making  applica-
tions  of  carbolic 
acid  or  other  acids  upon  the  root  of  the 
plant  by  means  of  a machine  oiling  can. 
This  method,  of  course,  kills  the  weed 
with  the  least  defacement  to  the  lawn. 

One  authority  suggests  that  carbolic 
acid,  the  prescribed  remedy  for  Knawel, 
is difficult to  obtain  and  not  safe  for  use 
by  the  average  layman.  "Gasoline,"  sug-
gests  this gentleman,  "is  just  as effective 

VOLUME  e 

[ 3] 

K N A W E L,  Selerenthus  Annus. 

as  carbolic  acid  and  may  also  be  applied 
with  a  squirt  oil  can." 

Others  have  used  a  pinch  of  Ammo-
nium  Sulfate,  Iron  Sulfate  or  Nitrate 
of  Soda.  All  act  as  weed  killers  when 
placed  on  the  crown  of  the  plant  (see 
"The  Spotting  Method  of  Weed  Eradi-
cation,"  page  3,  August,  1 9 31 
L A WN 
CARE)  and  also  (Iron  Sulfate  excepted) 
serve as a fertilizer, whereas  the  Carbolic 
Acid  does  not. 

Rough Sailing Ahead 
for the Dandelion 
THE  March  issue  of  Better  Homes 

and  Gardens  contains  the  following 

item: 

" Q U I C K,  WATSON,  THE  NEEDLE. 

"My  dear  Mr.  Peterson: 
"Having  dug  dandelions 

for  years 
with  no  appreciable  effect  other  than  a 
tired  back,  sore  hands,  and  shattered 
disposition, it occurred  to me that we had 
at  hand  a  most  efficient  exterminator  in 
the  form  of  ordinary  gasoline.  This  is 
nothing  new,  of  course,  but  the difficulty 
has been  to  apply  it  properly  so  it  would 
kill  the plant and  nothing  else.  Ordinary 
oil  cans  will  not  do. 

"So,  in  looking  around  for  a  suitable 
applicator  I  happened  to  pick  up  one  of 
the  large  glass  syringes  the  medical  pro-
fession uses for taking  blood  samples and 
the  like.  Here  was  an  ideal  applicator, 
as  it  had  a  ground-glass  plunger  and  a 
very long, slender needle.  I  tried it.  The 
result  was  beyond  my  wildest  dreams.  I 
applied  the treatment to  dandelions  large 
and  small,  including,  incidentally,  a  few 
plantains  and  other  weeds  in  my  lawn, 
and  shortly  it  was  necessary  to  hunt  for 
these  pests  instead  of  finding  them  at 
every  step.  I  dug  up  dandelions  in  vari-
ous  stages  of  decomposition,  and  found 
the  roots  completely  destroyed. 

"My  syringe holds an ounce. These  in-
struments  can  be  procured  at  any  surgi-
cal-supply house in many sizes and prices. 
The  cheap  ones  will  answer  as  well  as 
the 
finest.—Col.  George  A.  Skinner, 
Medical  Corps,  Omaha,  Nebraska. 

Dandelions Are  in 
A MOST 

Further Retreat 
interesting  sequel  to  the 
gasoline  syringe  method  of  dande-
lion  destruction  proposed  by  Colonel 
George  A.  Skinner  of  Omaha  has  been 
brought  to  light.  The  impression  was 
given  in  BETTER  H O M ES  AND  GARDENS 
and  repeated  in  L A WN  C A RE  that  the 
idea  was  to  inject  the  gasoline  into  the 
plant.  "This,"  says  Colonel  Skinner  in  a 
letter  to  us,  "is  not  the  case.  I  put  two 
or  three  drops  of  gasoline,  without  being 
particular whether  it is more, on  the cen-
ter of  the plant, usually covering  the bud 
just  as  it  emerges  from  the  center.  This 
destroys  the  plant  completely.  It  turns 
black  shortly  and  in  a  few  days  no  trace 
of  it  is  left.  If  there  are  flowers  I  also 
put  a  few  drops  on  them  as  dandelions 
are  such  persistent  growers  that  the 
flower  will  produce  seeds  before  the 
plant  dies.  If  one  objects  to  stooping 
there  are  many  gasoline  applicators  on 
the  market  but  I  prefer  to  stoop  as  I 
need  the  exercise." 

M U CH  COMMENT  AROUSED. 

We  owe  an  apology  to  Colonel  Skin-
ner  for  causing  him  so  much  correspon-
dence.  He  reports  letters  from  dande-
lion  haters  in  Boston,  Chicago,  New 
York  and  the  Southwest.  The  press  in 
Des  Moines  carried  his  dandelion  story 
and  it  also  rated  "Time"  Magazine. 

One  hardly  thought  as he  drove  along 
the  highways  last  spring  that  the  dande-
lion  had  lost  any  ground.  But  it  is  not 
because  of  any  failure  on  the  part  of 
the public to  become  aroused. 

[ 4] 

VOLUME  6