WEEDS 



6239 



WEEVIL 



germinate when favorable conditions arise, as 

 when the farmer resorts to deep plowing to kill 

 the seed; in this case the second plowing is 

 followed by a crop of weeds. 



The strength of biennials is in both the root 

 and the seed. The bull thistle, or purple this- 

 tle, is a good example of biennials. The young 

 plants begin to grow in the fall and the follow- 

 ing season produce a stalk three or four feet 

 high, bearing thousands of seeds. The young 

 plants should be destroyed as soon as they ap- 

 pear. To accomplish this it is necessary to cut 

 them off far enough beneath the surface to de- 

 stroy the roots. 



Perennials are the most troublesome weeds 

 because they have spreading roots which are 

 constantly producing new plants. These plants 

 also produce many seeds. The Canada thistle, 

 the bindweed, or morning-glory, the quack 

 grass and the oxeye daisy are some of the 

 most troublesome weeds of this class. If the 

 stalks are kept from growing so that the roots 

 can get no nourishment for two or three sea- 

 sons, the roots die x and the weed is destroyed. 

 This may be accomplished by turning the land 

 into pasture. To cultivate land infested with 

 plants and leave the roots in the ground 

 is to increase the crop of weeds, since each sec- 

 tion of the root will produce a new plant. 



Early and constant tillage, burning over in- 

 fested ground before plowing, and mowing road- 

 sides, vacant lots and all other untilled lands 

 before seeds ripen are the best means of pre- 

 venting weeds. The United States Department 

 of Agriculture will send helpful bulletins on the 

 subject to those requesting them. 



Herbicides, substances used in destroying 

 weeds. A standard herbicide that kills penny- 

 cress, wild radish, shepherd's-purse and similar 

 weeds is a solution of copper sulphate, mixed 

 in the proportion of one pound of copper sul- 

 phate to four gallons of water. Crude salt, ap- 

 plied at the rate of 300 pounds to the acre, will 

 ri' 1 meadows of the stubborn orange hawkweed. 

 Spraying lawns with iron sulphate, if the ap- 

 pl i cation is repeated several times, will clear 

 lawns of dandelions. Other chemicals used suc- 

 cessfully include diluted carbolic acid, arsenic, 

 sal soda and kerosene. WJT.R. 



subject*. It Is Impossible to Mat all 

 weeds here, because, aa stated in the an 

 above, many plants are weeds In one position and 

 i .mother. But the following are amom 

 noneat weeds of the United States and 

 Canada : 



Abutllon 

 Agrimony 



Bindweed 

 Burdock 



Canada Thistle Mullein 



Cocklebur Pigweed 



Cow Parsnip Plantain 



Dandelion Ragweed 



Dock Sand Bur 



Feverfew Sow Thistle 



Fleabane Stickseed 



Ooosefoot Stramonium 



Cromwell Thistle 



Indian Mallow Toadflax 

 Milkweed 



See, also: Annuals; Biennials; Perennials; 

 Seeds. 



WEEK, an artificial period of time, includ- 

 ing seven days. There is some evidence that 

 the week is a division based on the four phases 

 of the moon, but this theory is not now held 

 in favor. The ancient Chinese, Egyptians, Per- 

 sians and Babylonians are among the nations 

 known to have used the week as a division of 

 time. Among the ancient Hebrews the week 

 was associated with the belief in the creation 

 of the world in six days, the seventh day, or 

 Sabbath, being a day of rest and worship. The 

 days, however, had no ancient Hebraic names; 

 they were simply counted; Monday, therefore, 

 would be "two after the Sabbath." 



The Egyptians recognized the seventh day 

 merely as a day of recreation ; they named each 

 day from one of the planets. Among the later 

 Romans the week was also connected with the 

 sun, moon and five planets. Each day was sa- 

 cred to a Roman deity, who was associated 

 with a planet, and the days were known, there- 

 fore, as Sun's-day, Moon's-day, Mar's-day, etc. 

 This system was already in use about the be- 

 ginning of the Christian Era, but it was not offi- 

 cially recognized until the reign of Constant im\ 

 soon after A. D. 300. The Teutonic and English 

 names are translations of the Roman. The 

 Mohammedans also observe the religious char- 

 acter of the week, Friday being observed by 

 them as the Sabbath day. 



WEEVIL, wc'v'l, the name of several kinds 

 of small beetles, whose chief characteristic is a 

 long snout which sometimes exceeds the length 

 of the body. The name is also applied to tin- 

 larvae (young), which are short, footless worms 

 of white or yellow color. Weevils are among 

 worst pests that trouble the farmer. The 

 beetles are so small that they are not easily 

 seen, and the eggs are laid in the stalk, seed 

 or fruit of the plant, upon which the grub feeds, 

 causing great damage and loss to the crop. 

 There are weevils which attack grain, weevils 

 that attack fruit and those that attack such 

 crops as clover, alfalfa and cotton. The cotton 

 boll weevil, more commonly called the boll 



