CHAPTER XII 



WEEDS 



Definition of a weed. A weed is properly defined as a plant 

 out of place. No matter how beautiful the flowers may be, or 

 how highly the species may be regarded for decorative planting, 

 if it competes with cultivated plants for possession of the soil, 



Photograph from American Steel and Wire Co. 



FIG. 113. Spraying a field of young grain with iron sulphate to 

 eradicate mustard and other weeds 



it is a weed. In some localities the worst weeds with which 

 the farmer has to contend are ferns. Many species that in 

 foreign lands are cherished as beautiful flowering plants are 

 counted mere weeds at home. Indeed, some of the weeds that 

 now bother our cultivated crops, such as bouncing Bet and 



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