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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



habit ; large fibres are thrown out from the globular 

 bulbs, and they abstract much virtue from the soil in 

 supporting this determined intruder. These may be 

 dug out, but it is an expensive operation where they 

 greatly abound. Early and continuous hoeing will pre- 

 vent injury to the growing crop to any extent ; but a 

 good fallow can alone destroy them. Care should be 

 taken that they do not shed their seeds. ' 



Corn-mint, Shepherd's or Crow-needle, 

 Louse-weed, Toadpipe, and Groundsel, are 

 very similar in their habit of growth, and require much 

 hoeing and hand-weeding to eradicate them. The corn- 

 mint has a larger and more hardy root, which will live 

 for three or four years, and can scarcely be got rid of 

 except by fallowing. The shepherd' s-needle has a very 

 unsightly appearance in a corn sample, and detracts 

 much from its value. The toad-pipe is very wiry, 

 and a large crop of it is a pretty sure forerunner of 

 mildew in any succeeding crop, owing to the flint it 

 extracts from the soil. Groundsel is a quick-growing 

 plant, and if not speedily overtopped by the corn crop 

 becomes a great bane, particularly on good loams. 

 The Louseweed is chiefly seen in the stubbles on 

 good loams. It comes late into flower, and not being 

 well weeded out, it gives the wheat-stubble a slovenly 

 appearance. I have only to repeat that the same pro- 

 cess of hoeing and hand-weeding can alone mitigate the 

 evil; but I would recommend the last hand-hoeing to 

 take place as late as it can possibly be done, without 

 damage to the crop. Late weeds require protracted 

 weeding. Groundsell does great damage to young clover. 



Chickweed, or Stitchwort. — This weed is often 

 slightly treated of by our writers, but on fine friable 

 loams it is a very pernicious weed. We have frequently 

 seen crops of turnip-seed all but destroyed by it; and 

 in thin wheat crops it flourishes surprisingly. Its roots 

 are very minute and wiry, and find their way every- 

 where. Its seeds, too, propagate very early, and are 

 extremely hardy, and are diffused over the land thickly 

 by linnets. The only remark 1 would make here is, 

 that, as it is lightly thought of, it is often neglected and 

 left to propagate freely, often to become one of the worst 

 banes to the farm. 



Dandelion or Hoksegowan, Coltsfoot ok 

 Clayweed, Earthnut or Pignut. — These possess 

 very similar roots as respects their tenacious hold upon 

 the soil. The Dandelion and Pignut are less detri- 

 mental than the coltsfoot, but they do considerable 

 damage in impeding the growth of the corn plant. The 

 Coltsfoot is one of the most obnoxious weeds we have ; 

 it is the earliest of spring flowers, and almost before 

 other weeds are seen, its cotton-looking seeds are flying 

 all over the lands ; besides, it has a perennial root, 

 nearly as bad as twitch, which finds its way as freely 

 under ground, and is as hard to destroy. Many ways 



are resorted to for its destruction : one is to pick off its 

 flowers; but the root-stock or eye is so tenacious of life, 

 that it soon throws out more. It is a good plan to dig 

 it out at flowering time ; but only clean faUowing can 

 destroy it. Pigs are remarkably fond of pignut, and 

 similar roots, and the tending of such on fallows is often 

 of great service in making a clean fallow. 



Ass's-MART or Biting Plrsicary, Persicary 

 OR Passion Dock, Rest-harrow or wilh 

 Spinach. — These are of very similar character in 

 growth and habit. The Rest-harrow has a perennial 

 root, tough, strong, and woody, but is not very abundant, 

 and chiefly in slovenly fields. The Persicaries are a 

 very vile weed on good soils ; they are so hardy 

 and prolific, both in seed and plant. On some soils, 

 and when at full growth, it is with diflSculty that the hoe 

 can be made to cut through the root, and the crop of 

 seeds is so extraordinarily great, that a few plants would 

 seed a field. These, and all other plants producing great 

 abundance of seeds, ought to be had under especial 

 supervision by every cleanly farmer. They are annuals, 

 and their little thickly- clustering plants almost escape 

 notice in early weeding ; but if left uncut they eventually 

 show themselves in great profusion. It Is these, and 

 such as these, i. e. red poppy, hariffs, cockle, fat- hen, 

 groundsel, chickweed, and some of like habit and ap- 

 pearance as young plants, that do so much harm in so 

 many ways. In the first wheat hoeing most of them 

 have not made their first shoot above ground, and it is 

 by this very hoeing or culture that some of them are 

 caused to vegetate. Farmers are often perplexed and 

 teased to see these late weeds making such headway in 

 the crop when it is too late to weed them out ; for, 

 although these under-weeds do not injure a full crop, 

 they are very troublesome in a thin or light crop, and 

 the expense of keeping them down is often very consi- 

 derable. The most desirable and judicious course for 

 every farmer to pursue, with reference to the weeds of 

 his farm, is to give them no rest. At all times and sea- 

 sons he must keep a sharp look out upon them, and 

 wherever found make an effort to destroy them. The 

 " higher" he farms, the more care will he require. 

 High cultivation on a rich soil will in a remarkably short 

 time bring many varieties of weeds to perfection, and 

 grow others so strong and vigorous as almost to defy 

 the hoe ; or, if he is not on the alert, they grow so fast 

 as to make their extirpation a very expensive matter of 

 business. On all open well- manured soils it is a most 

 difficult thing to pursue cleanly farming : either the 

 crop must be given up for cleanliness, or there is great 

 hazard of a foul one, and the farmer has often such per- 

 plexities to contend with. At all events he must keep 

 his weeds under, and if my observations on this subject 

 shall lead to any more strict surveilance of the farm, I 

 shall be abundantly gratified. 



