24 PRODUCTIVE FARMING 



cuttings, and divisions of the plants. The buds or other 

 parts are taken from the best plants of the preferred varieties. 

 Their seed, if used, would not come true to kind. 



The Weed Nuisance. — One of the greatest hindrances 

 to good farming is the presence of weeds in the fields. Weed 

 seed is in the soils, in the grain, grass seed, and nearly all 

 farm seeds. (Figs. 10a and 6.) There are thirty or more un- 

 desirable weeds to be found in clover seed and alfalfa seed. 



Fig. 10a. — Hay-field filled in late summer with wild carrots or Queec 

 Anne's lace. 



Fig. 106. — Hay-field "taken" by dandelion. 



The grass seed is too often full of bad weed seed. There 

 is no place on the. farm where weeds are a greater enemy 

 to our success than in the grass fields. It is harder to get 

 rid of them there than from the fields where we are doing 

 some tilling. But most of the weeds found in the pastures 

 and hay-fields have been sown there or near there by some 

 farmer, at some time in the past. Some weed seeds are 

 sown from fence rows by the wind. 



Examining for Impurities. — ^Weed seeds and other impu- 

 rities can usually be seen with a common reading glass or 

 pocket microscope. The proper thing to do is to examine 



