THE WEEDS OF THE EARTH 



He can kill other men, he can, in a measure, 

 subdue nature, he can build up cities and tear 

 them down. But in the presence of the tor- 

 nado, when the sudden rush of the mighty- 

 locusts is in the air, when the lightning bolt 

 falls, or the earthquake sends forth its tremors, 

 or the hurricane sweeps his open boat in the 

 sea, indeed, even with all his progress, when 

 the great White Plague is at the door, he is 

 powerless. 



And when he lets Nature, in the amplitude 

 of her vegetative powers, overtake him, he is 

 well-nigh as helpless. The weeds of the earth, 

 vagabonds that they sometimes seem, outlaws 

 and outcasts, have a power not to be looked 

 upon lightly. Their onslaughts are not mat- 

 ters of centuries or decades, but of seasons, 

 even of months or weeks. By some sinister 

 provision they are marvelously fecund. Under 

 drought and neglect they thrive. When man 

 ignores them, they rise to the height of their 

 powers. 



All sorts of definitions of weeds have come 

 with their close study under the men of the 

 New Earth. One scientist says a weed is : "Any 

 useless or troublesome plant." Others say: 



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