d1 
same weeds in fields, and I then concluded that that seed had been im- 
ported from Germany. Moreover, while traveling through different coun- 
tries in Europe I saw a number of weeds that I instantly recognized, 
because I had seen them at home as immigrants. There were many that I 
expected would come to Indiana in time—and they are coming; new ones 
appear every year. This summer, for instance, I found a little composite 
plant (Galinsoga parviflora)—it has no common name—about Longceliff. I 
had seen the plant about Berlin; the German botanies stated that it had 
been introduced from western South America. I have been wondering 
whether the plants at Longeliff had come from Germany or direct from 
western South America. It would be interesting to know the facts. 
Several years ago I had as a patient an old farmer who came to an 
adjoining county when the country was first setiled. He gave me many 
facts regarding early conditions; how the dense forest had to be cut down 
and clearings made; how the small truck patch required very little atten- 
tion because there were no weeds, but in time weeds gradually came in 
and then the farmer had to fight weeds just as now in the Kankakee region. 
He also told of the coming in of pests and parasites of all kinds, including 
vats and mice, lice on animals, and blights and rusts on plants. He remem- 
bered when the peach blight first came, proving very destructive to peach 
trees. Unfortunately [ kept no record of dates. i have often regretted 
that I did not make memoranda because these are matters for which we 
must rely more and more on what is already recorded in the books. 
I live on a four-acre lot at the edge of town. In front of the house 
there is the lawn; in the rear along the river there is pasture; on one side 
there is the garden and on the other the orchard. ‘Then there is the barn 
lot and also a neglected bit of land. (There are also two little plots, one for 
wild flowers and another for plants grown from seed brought from foreign 
countries.) There is a variety of habitats for plants and it is interesting to 
note how some flourish in one situation and some in another. The move- 
ment of plants is, of course, constantly interfered with by cultivation and 
weeding, notably in the garden and on the lawn. Some weeds are very 
resistent; in the barn lot, in spite of one or two cuttings every year, the 
Jimson weed and the Spiny Amaranth continue to grow; every year there 
are two or three plants. In the pasture again there is a small patch of 
Canada Thistles. This plot has been cut down and plants hoed down two 
or three times every year for the past eight years, and still the thistles 
a 
