458 THE FARMER AT HOME. 



ease and accuracy. Accordingly, a very great number of such 

 observations have been collected, which have been arranged and 

 examined, from time to time, by ingenious men, and consequences 

 deduced from them, on which several different theories of the weather 

 have been built. But meteorology is a science so exceedingly diffi- 

 cult, that, notwithstanding the united exertions of some of the first 

 philosophers of the age, the phenomena of the weather are still very 

 far from being completely understood ; nor can we expect to see the 

 veil removed, till accurate tables of observations have been obtained 

 from every part of the world, till the atmosphere has been more com- 

 pletely analysed, and the chemical changes which take place in it 

 ascertained. 



WEEDS. Every plant which grows in a field or garden other 

 than that of which the seed has been sown by the husbandman or 

 gardener is called a weed, and, inasmuch as it interferes with the 

 intended crop, should be carefully eradicated. It is a proof of good 

 cultivation when few weeds appear among the growing crops, and 

 many of the operations of tillage are intended chiefly for their destruc- 

 tion. The seeds of annual weeds are chiefly brought on the land in 

 the manure which is made in the yards, where the cattle, fed on hay 

 or straw, swallow the seeds, which pass through them undigested. 

 By exciting a greater degree of fermentation in the mixture of dung 

 and litter some of the seeds may be destroyed, but many of them will 

 keep their vegetative powers even after having been exposed to a con- 

 siderable heat ; and as it is not advisable to let the manure undergo 

 a great degree of decomposition before it is carried to the land, many 

 weeds always escape destruction, and vegetate as soon as they are 

 placed in a favorable situation. Those which are buried deep lie 

 dormant for a long time, and vegetate as soon as the plough or spade 

 brings them up again. 



One of the greatest advantages, of composts made with human 

 excrements mixed with earths and mineral substances is, that they 

 introduce no weeds into the soil. It is reported that in China, where 

 the dung of cattle is little used, in comparison with human excre- 

 ments, no weeds are to be found in the fields ; and if more attention 

 were paid to the preservation of this highly enriching manure, and its 

 proper application to the soil, much expense would be saved which is 

 now unavoidably incurred in the destruction of weeds. Nor is it to 

 be forgotten that whatever of weeds are left to grow exhausts so much 

 of the fertilizing properties of the soil needed in producing the crops. 

 By caution and a little labor weeds will generally be kept down. 



WEEK. A division of time consisting of seven days. As this 

 division of time had its origin from the positive command of God ; so 

 it has been known and observed by those only who have been ac- 

 quainted with divine revelation. Besides the incalculable moral and 

 religious advantages resulting from a dedication of the seventh part of 



