WEEDS. 61 



run with nut-grass is to be cleared and will grow cow 

 peas, these should be sown at the rate of two and a half 

 bushels to the acre, as soon in the spring as possible, and 

 be plowed under before the shedding of the leaves ad- 

 mits any light and air to the soil. These should be fol- 

 lowed by a second crop of peas, and the latter by one of 

 rye. If this round is repeated, there will be little, if any, 

 nut-grass to be seen at the commencement of the third 

 season, but a third year may be required to kill it. If a 

 mulch is laid upon the ground six or eight inches, or 

 more, in thickness, nut-grass will push its way through; 

 but the stems upon which the young nuts are formed will 

 not penetrate the earth deeply; and, if the mulch has 

 partly rotted in contact with the soil, they will remain 

 upon the surface, or so near it, as to be destroyed to a 

 great extent, by firing the covering material during dry 

 weather. A second or even a third mulch may be neces- 

 sary to be completely effective. Nut-grass is propagated 

 by the nuts; and if the growth above ground is constantly 

 interrupted, and it is not allowed to bloom, it is doubt- 

 ful whether the nuts can come to maturity. 



BERMUDA GRASS (Cynodon Dactylori) 



may be destroyed in the same manner as nut-grass; but 

 an easier and cheaper method may be adopted with this 

 plant, as it may be killed out by repeatedly plowing and 

 raking during hot and dry weather, particularly in heavy 

 ground with clay subsoil. Neither this nor the nut-grass 

 matures seed in the United States. 



PURSLANE (Portulaca oleracea.) 



This weed spreads an extraordinary number of fine seeds 

 over a place, if allowed to mature, and it should be de- 

 stroyed when young. Owing to the nature of the leaf and 

 the paucity of stomata, this plant may be upon the sur- 



