TlIK VKUKTAIiLK EnE.MIKK OK INFaNKIND. '•i-') 



logs and tuni tliciii into soil, which it accomplishes by boring 

 into the wood, and so disorganising it that it l)ecomes soft and 

 powdery and falls rapidly into earth. Anotlier and very large 

 and important class of jjlants, which may in some sense be 

 described as enemies of mankind, is the class of weeds, the 

 nnmber and adaptability and hardness of which, in the midst of 

 all attempts to keep them down, is proverbial. The original 

 curse upon man after the fall was — " Cursed is the ground for 

 thy sake. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth unto 

 thee." Some of them, like coltsfoot and l)ishoiisweed, fight 

 underground. The long, deep-buried roots and stems spread 

 Ijelow the surface and steal a march upon their neighbours, and 

 often go so deep as to be btiyond the reach of the gardener's 

 spade. In old days in Scotland the guil or gul (chrysanthemum 

 segetum) used to l)e one of the most troublesome pests, so much 

 so as to be ma<le the subject of legislation- "Gift thy fermer put 

 any guile into the land pertaining to the King or to ane Baron, 

 and will not clenze tlie land, he sould be punished as a traitor, 

 •juha leads and convoys ane host of enemies." — Stat. Alex. II., 

 c. 18 (Jamieson's Dictionary). It was said that this weed used 

 to cover five times as much space as the corn in a cornfield. 

 Unlike the weeds which spread beneath the surface, and have 

 roots which send out fresh stems, the couch grass throws out 

 long overground runners, which send out fresh roots and thus 

 multiply the plant. These ai'e more easily removed by the 

 harrow or rake, or killed Ity ploughing deep into the soil. But 

 the plant is by no means useless, affording, as it does, uouri.shing 

 food to cattle. 



There is another class of weeds, the seeds of which are en- 

 dowed with [iroperties which enable them to spread over a wide 

 ai'ea, and to multiply their kind by taking root in places at a 

 distance from the original plant which gave birth to them. Of this 

 kind are those with delicate hairs or featherj'^ projectors attached 

 to them which are caught by the wind and sent flying away in 

 different directions. The humble weeds of America are specimens 

 of this kind, and among ourselves the dandelion and the thistle 

 are familiar examples. Provision is thus made for bare spaces 

 of ground, which man has left uncultivated, being speedily 

 clothed with an abundant vegetation. 



There are certain grasses which approach nearer 

 to one's idea of a vegetable enemy than anything else. The 



