nwtis 



^43 



grown in rotation, and not mixed up with 

 other crops. We don't recommend it, how- 

 ever, nor do we imagine that it would have a 

 favourable influence on the balance sheet. 

 Still they are grown, and they are even pro- 

 tected in the course of their growth, in order, 

 apparently, that their powers of repro- 

 duction may not be impaired. Thus, 

 when thistles are permitted to stand until the 

 seed is perfected before they are cut down, 

 we treat them with exactly the same con- 

 sideration that we would bestow on rye-grass 

 or on our corn crops. They get the benefit 

 of costly manures, to the detriment, no 

 doubt, of those plants for the special behoof 

 of which those manures were intended ; and, 

 in fact, it frequently happens that we cannot 

 do more for the profitable " plants of the 

 farm" than we do for those which are with- 

 out any claim to that title. 



There are, no doubt, certain classes of weeds 

 which are exceedingly difficult to eradicate. 

 The seeds lie dormant in the soil for years, 

 and spring into life under circumstances 

 favourable to their vegetation. The charlock is 

 an example of this ; and there are others 

 which even a long course of the highest 

 cultivation fails to overcome, as, for instance, 

 that pest of East Lothian farming — the wild 

 oat. But, apart from these, there are many 

 kinds of weeds which are disseminated and 

 propagated through inattention or neglect. 

 Dirty seed is a very common channel for 

 conveying weeds to our fields. Professor 

 Buckman discovered " in a pint of clover 

 seed 7600 weed seeds; in a pint of cow- 

 grass seed, 12,600; in broad clover, 

 39,440 ; and two pints of Dutch clover 

 yielded severally 25,560 and 70,400 weed 

 seeds. Supposing these samples to be 

 sown, here were seeds enough to stock the 

 land with weeds for many years. The farmer 

 often goes to the cheapest market, and gets 

 weeds for seed, and so pays exceedingly dear 

 for what he considers a cheap bargain." 

 It is well known that a large proportion of 

 rye-grass seed is produced in districts where 

 " dirty farming" is by no means the excep- 

 tion, and when such seed is soAvn without 

 being thoroughly cleaned, the best farmed 

 land in the kingdom will be speedily over- 

 run with weeds of all descriptions. 



In the case of thistles, and other plants 

 having winged seeds, it becomes very difficult, 

 in fact, impossible to keep clear of them, 

 unless they are regularly cut down, or other- 

 wise eradicated at an early stage of their 

 growth, not merely on any particular farm, 

 but on all the farms in the neighbourhood. 

 "A dirty farmer" in this way is a nuisance to 

 all around him; a mere "dog in the 

 manger," who will neither keep his own land 

 clear of weeds, nor allow his neighbours to 

 do so with their farms. Dirty roadsides are 

 also fertile nurseries for weeds, especially 

 those which have winged seeds ; and many 

 who abhor the sight of a weed of any kind 

 are subject to the nuisance from the neglected 

 state of the public roads which run through 

 their farms. 



It would be desirable to know how far road 

 trustees could be made responsible for allow- 

 ing the roads to become nurseries for weeds, 

 polluting all the land in their vicinity. For 

 several years past the destruction of roadside 

 weeds has assumed somewhat of an ofiicial 

 character in Ireland, froua the circumstance 

 that Mr Donnelly, the Registrar-General for 

 Ireland, has made it a subject of earnest 

 appeal in his annual circulars issued respect- 

 ing the collection of agricultural statistics ; 

 and several statements regarding the propor- 

 tionate quantities of weeds on farms throughout 

 that part of the kingdom have appeared in Mr 

 Donnelly's cfticial reports. That gentleman 

 has shewn great and praiseworthy enthusiasm 

 in his "crusade against weeds;" beseeching 

 farmers and invoking the aid of grand juries 

 to assist him in his efforts towards keeping 

 at least the roadsides clean. Nor have his 

 efforts been fruitless, as Irish grand juries 

 generally insist on road contractors keeping 

 the roadsides free from weeds, and in this 

 way some good has been effected. The 

 example thus set should be followed in other 

 parts of the kingdom. Thistles should also 

 be prevented from seeding in woods and 

 plantations, which, like the roadsides, are fre- 

 quently allowed to become nurseries of such 

 plants ; and by attending to those points, 

 relief would be afforded to many farmers, 

 who at present are compelled to see their 

 land unprofitably occupied in consequence 

 of the inattention or neglect of others. 



