THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



527 



land by birds, as in the case of docks. Hand-hoeing- 

 and weeding are the chief resorts, followed by continu- 

 ous raking with long- toothed hand-rakes. 



Daisy Wked, on Gowans. — These, like the corn 

 marigold, infest poor clays greatly, and are of similar 

 habits, and require like means to rid the land of it. It 

 is not so successional in its growth. 



Darxel, or Drauk.— This is a kind of brome 

 gra?s, and grows very like oats as to habit ; and as it 

 can scarcely be distinguished from the corn whilst 

 growing, it cannot readily be weeded out. Care should 

 be taken not to sow it, as it is au annual, and gene- 

 rally sown with the seed corn. 



Cockle. — This is a very pernicious weed, as greatly 

 infesting corn samples, and detracts from its value. 

 The seed is numerous, is rough, and almost black; it 

 can readily be dressed out with proper sieves of seven 

 wires to the inch. Millers dislike it much, as the seed 

 breaks fine and discolours the flour. Weeding may do 

 great service. Never sow it with the seed-corn. 



Blue-bottle, or Knap-weeb. — A common weed 

 on all sandy soils, and hard to eradicate, as are all 

 those of a similar class. Unwearied attention must be 

 given to rid them. 



Wild Carrot, Hemlock or Kecks, Fat-hen 

 OR Wild Spinage, and Wild Parsnip are all very 

 obnoxious intruders upon our crop.*, and are of similar 

 growth and habit. Some of them arc more seen in 

 hedge rows and ditch banks, &c. They grow rupidly, 

 and occupy large breadths, and are thus very detri- 

 mental to the crop. Early hoeing and pulling is the 

 best course with them. Tlie wild spinage is most in- 

 jurious to the crop, and produces a large quantity of 

 seeds; this seeding must be prevented. 



Hariff, or Cleavers. — This is a highly-injurious 

 weed. It is a most tenacious climber, dragging down 

 the finest crops where it abounds, and its seeds are a 

 great drawback upon samples of corn. Early hoeing 

 is best, and subsequently close hand- weeding, and ufter- 

 wards, as for the corn bind weed, the crop should be 

 raked over and over. 



Willow AVeed, Hog Weed, Knot Grass or 

 Wire Grass (in variety), Persicary. — These 

 are of extremely hardy growth, and produce an 

 astonishing crop of seed, which grow immediately they 

 are shed, so as to bring forth innumerable plants. 

 They will speedily spread themselves and occupy all 

 the soil, and thus destroy the crop if not quickly looked 

 after. Deep hoeing and constant weeding will alone 

 suffice to keep them under. Their seeds are very hardy, 

 and ought to be dressed out of all seed corn. 



Sow Thistle. — This is one of the most provoking 

 of the weed tribe. It is of such rapid growth when 

 once it takes a good hold of the soil, that it is continu- 

 ally making its unlouked-for appearance after weeding 

 is concluded and the crop is pronounced cleanly weeded. 

 This is a fibrous or creeping-rooted weed, and is best 

 destroyed in fallowing. It is a great pest to an inferior 

 crop oi beans orpeas. The winged seedfly a long distance. 

 Wild Oats. — This is a woful pest on poor clayey 

 loams, and a very general weed elsewhere. It grows 



rom roots as well as seeds, and, like darnel, it is not 

 seen till almost too late to weed it out, without great 

 injury to the crop. On rich loams it grows to a great 

 height, towering above the general crop in a most un- 

 sightly manner. Never sow a wild oat ; weed them 

 out if possible. 



The Field Scabious, the Fox-glove, the 

 Fumitory, the Hemp-nettle, the Ragwort, 

 and many similar weeds of the like habit of growth. — 

 These are all of the class of tall-growing weeds that 

 impede the progress of the growing crop by taking up 

 the required space for it. They are not of such inve- 

 terate hardihood as to defy the hoe or spud, but arc 

 more readily brought under by its destroying cut. The 

 same constant hoeing and weeding are requisite for all, 

 and the same careful forethought is needed to prevent 

 their increase. 



We iire apt to think farming would be an easy business 

 irit were not for all the anxiety consequent upon such 

 comparatively trivial matters. Why it is nothing. 

 What is common life itself, amongst common people, 

 but a succession of like trivial things ? Seldom more 

 than petty successes ; petty troubles, petty trifles every 

 day attending us. What need for circumspection in all 

 our conduct ! What necessity for constant weeding. 



I now come to those under-weeds which are eo inju- 

 rious to corn crops, i. e. twitch or squich, black grass or 

 slender- fux tail, butter-cup, corn-mint, shepherd's or 

 crow-needle, chickweedor stitchwort, dandelion or horse- 

 gowan, coltsfoot or clayweed, toadpipe or marestail, 

 groundsel or grunsell, earthnut or pignut, ass's-mart 

 or biting persicary, persicary or passion-dock, louse- 

 weed, rest-harrow or wild liquorice, field- madder, &c. 

 &c. Having especial reference to practical usefulness in 

 these paper?, I must necessarily be as concise as possible. 



Twitch, or Couch-grass, &c. — This is a highly 

 injurious weed to a corn crop. It is classed by bota- 

 nists in the same genus of grass as wheat, but it is totally 

 different in the growth of its roots, for they are found to 

 run underground in every direction, and it does great 

 damage to every corn crop where it abounds, by its 

 roots running into the soil, in and about the roots of 

 the corn plants, so as to impede their growth exceed- 

 ingly. There is no help for this case, but in repeated 

 hoeings, so as to check its growth. The roots will 

 remain till the next fallow. Great care should invaiia- 

 bly be given to fork it out before seeding. 



Black grass, or Slender Foxtail, commonly 

 called Natural Grass.— This is very detrimental to the 

 progress of the corn crop. It has not a strong creeping 

 root like twitch, but it is almost as difficult to destroy; 

 besides, it sheds a large crop of hardy seeds, which are 

 much relished by birds, so that by roots, and by the 

 difi"usion of its seed, it is largely propagated. Constant 

 hoeing is the only resort during the growth of the corn ; 

 and immediately after harvest a good harrowing should 

 take place, to cause the seeds to vegetate, when the young 

 plants may be mostly destroyed by ploughing. The 

 old plants must be eradicated in the next fallow. 



Butter-cup Ranunculus. — This is very com- 

 mon on some soils, and is of very tenacious growth and 



