WEEDING. 349 



large ; and by their mere existence, as when they appear on gravel- 

 walks. In those parts of gardens where the soil is kept constantly 

 pulverized on the surface, the most numerous weeds consist of annual 

 plants ; but among the grass of lawns, and sometimes among crops 

 which remain in one place for more than a year, perennial weeds also 

 make their appearance. The seeds of weeds are brought into gardens 

 by stable dung, by birds, by the wind, by fresh soil brought in for the 

 renewal of borders, for compost, &c., and by some other sources ; and 

 they are perpetuated there by being allowed to come to maturity and 

 shed their seeds. The obvious mode of preventing the existence of all 

 absolute weeds, whether annual or perennial, would be to prevent all 

 weeds, whether in gardens or fields, from ripening seeds, by cutting 

 them down before they come into flower ; and this, we think, ought to 

 be made an object of national concern for the sake of the agriculture of 

 the country, even more than for its gardening. Prices per peck or 

 per bushel might be offered for the unopened flower-buds of different 

 weeds, according to their bulk or frequency, to be paid by parish - 

 officers to such children and infirm persons as might find it worth 

 while to collect them, nothing being paid for those buds which have 

 been suffered to expand. This practice, we are informed, exists in 

 some parts of France and Bavaria ; but to be effective in any country 

 it ought to be general. In the meantime, all that can be done is to 

 destroy weeds as fast as they appear. 



Annual weeds among growing crops are readily destroyed in dry 

 weather by hoeing, and leaving them to die where they have grown ; 

 but if large, they may be raked off and wheeled to the compost ground, 

 where mixed with soil or with other putrescent matters, they will be 

 speedily decomposed and rendered fit for manure. Weeds among 

 broadcast crops which stand thick on the ground, such as onions, 

 spinach, &c., require to be pulled up by hand ; and for this purpose a 

 moist state of the soil is preferable, but not so much as to occasion 

 poaching by the feet of the weeder, unless indeed the plants should 

 be in beds, where they may be weeded immediately after the heaviest 

 rains. 



Perennial weeds, except when they are quite young and not far 

 advanced beyond the seed-leaf, when they may be treated as annuals, 

 require more care to eradicate than annual weeds. Their roots 

 generally must be raised up by a fork, weeding hook, spade, trowel, or 

 some other implement, which penetrates deeper than the hoe ; and 

 great care must be taken with underground stems, such as those of the 

 couch-grass, the small field convolvulus, the hedge-nettle, and others, 

 to take up every joint, otherwise the result will merely be the pro- 

 pagation of these weeds by division. 



Weeds in gravel-walks should be removed by weeding, or by hoe- 

 ing and raking. Salt, either sprinkled on them, or better still applied as 

 hot brine, likewise destroys all weeds, and so do sulphate of copper and 

 other substances ; but these should commonly be used to walks that 

 have no living edgings, such as box, &c., and they must not be applied 

 very heavily in kitchen gardens where the roots of trees run under the 



