196 THE SUI^VIVAL OF THE UNLIKE. [viIT. 



northern plains seem to be better adapted to wlieat than 

 to other products, and it is not my purpose to specify 

 other crops for those areas ; but it is evident that a 

 region which grows wheat under indifferent cultiva- 

 tion can grow other produce as well, and the Russian 

 thistle will force the inhabitants to discover what these 

 products may be. 



What I have thus far stated is only a well-known 

 truth in organic evolution, — that the distribution of 

 an animal or plant upon the earth, and to a great extent 

 the attributes of the organism itself, are the result of a 

 struggle with other organisms. A plant which becomes 

 a weed is only a victor in a battle with farm crops; a'nd 

 if the farmer is in command of the vanquished army, 

 it speaks ill for his generalship when he is routed l)y 

 a pigweed or a Russian thistle. Let one recall the 

 weedy areas which he has seen, and consider the con- 

 ditions. The daisy -cursed meadows of the east are 

 those which have been long mown and are badly "run," 

 or else those which were not properly made, and the 

 grass obtained but a poor start. The farmer may say 

 that the daisies have "run out" the grass, but the fact 

 is that the meadow began to fail, and the daisies quickly 

 seized upon the opportunity to gain a foothold ; and 

 just so long as the farmer persists in his accustomed 

 methods will the daisies usurp the land. The weedy 

 lawns are those which have a thin turf, and the best 

 treatment is to scratch the ground lightly with an iron- 

 toothed rake, apply fertilizer and sow more seed ; in 

 other words, augment the struggle for existence, and 

 the weeds will go down before the June grass, and the 

 grass plants themselves, because of the greater numbers, 

 will be more slender and will make a softer turf. ThQ 



