That these, then, have to a great extent been sown with the seed is quite certain; but what tends further to strengthen the argument is, that the _Veronica Buxbaumii_ (Buxbaum’s Speedwell) and the _Petroselinum segetum_ (Corn Parsley) are not native to the farm; and, indeed, it is doubtful whether very many of our agrarian weeds are true natives, as on examination many weeds will only be found in special crops, and these occur in the same crops all over the world wherever those crops can be cultivated. Our own country, then, has, doubtless, imported a large portion of her weed flora from abroad, just as we have traced in the United States, European (not American) plants, tracking the settlers from England, Ireland, and Scotland. It is thus that the European daisy (_Bellis perennis_) has got the name of the “White Man’s Foot.” Seeing, then, that the clover seeds are so liable to be dirty, it becomes an important inquiry as to whether it is possible to get pure seed; and in reply to this query we should answer, from a long experience, that though one seldom sees pure clover seed, yet it sometimes falls in our way, or at least so pure that its weeds are reduced to a minimum. Such samples may be expected to be high-priced; but still, how much cheaper than a dirty article!—for, independently of having only the seed of the crop you wish to cultivate, you are saved the annoyance which must arise when a weed has taken root, in that then the clover cannot grow, and you ultimately see the ground occupied by a spreading noxious plant, or, this dying out, there will be a vacant spot,—in either case resulting in a loss of nutriment. But, besides the more natural method of selling dirty seed from weedy patches, seedsmen are too apt to mix the seed of plantain (_Plantago lanceolata_) with that of clover; for, as the colours of the seeds are not unlike, and some people speak favourably of plantain as a sheep-feed, it is unblushingly mixed and sold with clover seed, though the plantain at most is only worth about half the price. Where it occurs naturally amongst clovers, it may be separated to make a good sample, but only to be ultimately mixed again and sold to greenhorns with a cheap sample. We have had before us samples of clover containing plantain as under:— 5. TABLE OF PLANTAIN SEEDS IN CLOVER. +--------------------+-----------+------------+ | | Plantain | | | | Seeds. | | +--------------------+-----------+------------+ | White Dutch Clover | 1,024,000 | } | | Red Clover | 1,085,440 | } In an | | Ditto | 1,568,000 | } Imperial | | Ditto | 2,508,160 | } Bushel. | +--------------------+-----------+------------+