CHAPTER XVII. 

 WEEDS AND PESTS AND DISEASES. 



GARDEN WEEDS. 



" WHAT is a weed ? " a beginner once asked me, and 

 when I came to think of it there was some difficulty in 

 saying quite what constitutes a weed. 



As a general rule, however, all wild plants come under 

 the heading of weeds, they are plants alien to cultivated 

 gardens, for they appear and grow unbidden by the 

 gardener. 



This definition, however, is not quite correct, for a 

 Calendula is not in itself a weed, but if it comes up un- 

 bidden in the Godetia bed, it has to be treated as one. 

 Perhaps a really good definition of a weed is that it is 

 a " plant in the wrong place." This is true for all sorts 

 and conditions of " weeds." 



I cannot help smiling when I recall a correspondence in 

 a Yorkshire newspaper on weeds and the uses of weeds. 

 It was extremely interesting, but not convincing, although 

 I am willing to recognise that some weeds have uses. 

 The weed question is always a serious one, the more so 

 if strong measures are not taken both on the farm and in 

 the garden to check their growth. It should be a national 

 duty, instead of a voluntary labour. 



An interesting experience seems worth recording here, 

 vSome few years ago a heap of rather poor soil was dug out 

 in making a new greenhouse, and wheeled into a field 

 adjoining our garden. Now it is completely covered with 



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