492 



W E E 



WEE 



rections given above, I think he 

 will be always favoured with clean 

 crops, ami that weeds will never 

 prevail much in his tillage land. 



It is true, that some seeds may 

 be wafted by the winds from other 

 fields into his enclosures. The 

 best preventive of this is having 

 close fences. But those seeds to 

 which a lij^jht down adheres, are 

 oftea mounted high in the air ; so 

 that there is no possibility of fenc- 

 ing against them. Of this kind are 

 the seeds of thistles, &c. However, 

 they seldom tarry in the places 

 where they first fall, but are driven 

 to the borders of fields. 



But when, by means of a negli- 

 gent or slovenly culture, lands in 

 tillage are become weedy, the far- 

 mer should perfectly know, and 

 spiritedly practise, the most effec- 

 tual metliods of subduing the 

 weeds, which are his most formi- 

 dable enemies. For they diminish 

 the husbandman's crops, more than 

 most people are aware of. 



The most effectual way of de- 

 stroying them is, by a good sum- 

 mer fallowings alternately ploui^h- 

 iijg and harrowing the ground in 

 dry weather, as often as the weeds 

 appear in plenty on the surface. 

 At each of these stirrings a large 

 quantity of weeds isde^tro}ed, and 

 converted into manure; and the 

 seeds of another crop so exposed 

 to the air, that »hey will spring up, 

 and at the next stirring of the soil 

 be destroyed. A;id if these opera- 

 tions are continued until no more 

 weeds arise, it may be concluded 

 that the ground is in excellent or- 

 der for a crop. It is not only clean- 

 ed from weeds, but greatly en- 



riched : And it will not be liable 

 to be infested with weeds, to any 

 great degree, for several years 

 after. 



Next to fallowing, which may be 

 thought rather expensive, the best 

 way to get the better of weeds, is 

 to employ the land in hoed crops, 

 for two or three years in succes- 

 sion, not omitting autumnal hand- 

 weeding. Or a crop of pease, 

 sowed thick, or any crop that forms 

 a close cover to the surface, may 

 do much towards subduing the 

 weeds. The few weeds that ve- 

 getate under such a cover are so 

 cramped and k<'pt under, as to be 

 prevented from going to seed ; or 

 at least from bringing their seeds 

 to maturity. 



Extraordinary deep ploughing, 

 or trench |)loughing, has been re- 

 commtMided as elFectual. But in 

 this practice, care should be taken 

 to avoid turning in too many of the 

 seeds of weeds. The autumn, 

 therefore, is not the right time for 

 this, but rather the spring or sum- 

 mer. For if many seeds are thus 

 buried, the next deep ploughing 

 that there may be occasion for, 

 will bring them again up to the air, 

 and cause not a few of them to 

 vegetate, though it should happen 

 to be not till many >ears after. 



As deep ploughing destroys 

 weeds, or rather puts them out of 

 the way, so, on the other hand, no- 

 thing can more encourage their 

 growth than the shallow ploughing, 

 which is commonly given for sow- 

 ed crops in this country. 



But if all other methods were to 

 prove ineffectual for the destruc- 

 tion of annual weeds, laying tillage 



