A BUNCH OF HERBS 207 



and prolific; they will thrive in a lean soil, or they 

 will wax strong in a rich one; in all cases they fol- 

 low man and profit by him. Our native weeds, on 

 the other hand, are furtive and retiring; they flee 

 before the plow and the scythe, and hide in corners 

 and remote waste places. Will they, too, in time, 

 change their habits in this respect ? 



"Idle weeds are fast in growth," says Shakespeare, 

 but that depends upon whether the competition is 

 sharp and close. If the weed finds itself distanced, 

 or pitted against great odds, it grows more slowly 

 and is of diminished stature, but let it once get the 

 upper hand and what strides it makes! Red-root 

 will grow four or five feet high if it has a chance, 

 or it will content itself with a few inches and 

 mature its seed almost upon the ground. 



Many of our worst weeds are plants that have 

 escaped from cultivation, as the wild radish, which 

 is troublesome in parts of New England; the wild 

 carrot, which infests the fields in eastern New York ; 

 and live-forever, which thrives and multiplies under 

 the plow and harrow. In my section an annoying 

 weed is abutilon, or velvet-leaf, also called "old 

 maid,'' which has fallen from the grace of the gar- 

 den and followed the plow afield. It will manage 

 to mature its seeds if not allowed to start till mid- 

 summer. 



Of beautiful weeds quite a long list might be 

 made without including any of the so-called wild 

 flowers. A favorite of mine is the little moth mul- 

 lein that blooms along the highway, and about the 



