WEDNESDAY 



6238 



WEEDS 



the culmination of the great potter's efforts. 

 This last resembles the finest grade of white 

 terra cotta in outward appearance, but its 

 chemical composition is entirely different. 

 Solid jasper has a blue tint, but in making the 

 jasper body Wedgwood used besides white, 

 various tints of blue, and lilac, pink, sage-green, 

 olive-green, yellow and black. Among the ob- 

 jects made in this ware are medallions, cameos, 

 statuettes, pedestals, flowerpots and vases. 

 Figures in relief, representing classical art, 

 adorned objects made from jasper, and eminent 

 were employed to make the designs. 

 One of the most famous of the Wedgwood 

 creations is a copy of the celebrated Portland 

 vase. 



Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) was born at 

 Burslem, Staffordshire. He came from a family 

 of potters. Although handicapped by the loss 

 of a limb, during his entire life he gave per- 



of apprentice in a printing office to become a 

 volunteer in the War of 1812. In 1819 he es- 

 tablished The Agriculturist at Norwich, N. Y., 

 and in 1822 edited the Rochester Telegraph. 

 He then established the Albany Journal and 

 edited it until 1865. Through his political skill 

 and the wide influence of his paper, he became 

 the state political manager of the Whig, and 

 afterward of the Republican, party. He went 

 to Europe in 1861 on a diplomatic mission to 

 induce foreign governments not to interfere in 

 the War of Secession. In 1867 he became editor 

 of the Commercial Advertiser of New York 

 City, but ill health soon forced him to resign 

 this position. He published Letters jrom Eu- 

 rope and the West Indies and an Autobiogra- 

 phy. 



WEEDS, plants which are troublesome to 

 the farmer, and worthless where they grow. 

 There is no dividing line between weeds and 



SEEDS OP SOME COMMON WEEDS 



(1) Orange hawkweed ; (2) long-leaf plantain, or ribgrass ; (3) wild carrot; (4) Canada this- 

 tle; (5) wild mustard. Each is shown in the illustration in natural size and in enlarged form, to 

 disclose more of their characteristics. 



sonal attention to the details of his pottery, 

 and his influence on the development of the 

 ceramic art has been permanent and far-reach- 

 ing. Wedgwood was deeply interested in all 

 matters pertaining to the public welfare ; it was 

 mainly through his influence that the Grand 

 Trunk Canal, connecting the waters of the 

 Mersey, the Trent and the Severn, was made 

 possible. 



Consult Meteyard's The Wedgwood Handbook; 

 Church's Josiah Wedgwood, Master Potter. 



WEDNESDAY, wenz'da, the fourth day of 

 the week, the day sacred to Woden or Odin, 

 the chief god of Norse mythology. The French 

 call the day merer edi, from Mercury, the Ro- 

 man god who is usually identified with Odin. 



WEED, THURLOW (1797-1882), an American 

 journalist and political leader, who took an ac- 

 tive part in shaping the policy of the Repub- 

 lican party of his time. He was born in Cairo, 

 N. Y. At the age of fifteen he left his position 



useful plants except that of relation. Oats 

 growing in a cornfield, for example, would be 

 regarded as weeds, but in the oatfield they are 

 useful plants. Grass grows in almost every cul- 

 tivated field and is a hindrance to the crop, so 

 it is looked upon there as a weed, but it con- 

 stitutes the wealth-producing crop of the 'hay- 

 field and the pasture. 



According to their growth weeds may be di- 

 vided into three classes, as follows: annuals, 

 those that live but one year; biennials, those 

 that live two years, and perennials, those that 

 live more than two years. Since annuals propa- 

 gate themselves entirely by seeds, they should 

 be destroyed before the seeds are ripe. Most 

 annual weeds produce a large number of seeds, 

 a single plant frequently bearing several thou- 

 sand. To plow such plants under is to provide 

 for an abundant crop of weeds the next season. 

 The seeds of some of these plants will live un- 

 derground for two or three years and then 



