1868. 



NEW ENGLAOT) FAEMER, 



289 



"WEEDS. 



BEDS have 

 the advan- 

 tage of all 

 cultivated 

 plants in 

 several re- 

 spects. — 

 They usu- 

 ally have 

 possession 

 of the soil 

 and possession 

 is said to be 

 'nine points of the law." 

 They are either heirs of old settlers, and 

 claim by regular descent, or they are holding 

 by the claim of "squatter sovereignty," or they 

 have been inadvertently placed in the soil by 

 the farmer, in the manure, or mixed with his 

 seeds. In some way they have got possession, 

 and the weed is not particular about the soil. 

 It is at home anywhere, and always ready to 

 assert its claim, and push its way ; and, like the 

 child of poverty among the heirs of wealth, it 

 seems to know that it must fight its way through 

 the world, and sets about it with energy and 

 pluck, and generally, like him, wins the fight 

 at the expense of those whose prospects were 

 apparently the best. It does not require 

 dainty food or watchful tending, or careful 

 protection from heat and cold. All it asks is, 

 like other rebels against good government, 

 *'to be let alone," and it will accomplish its 

 purpose, will mature its seed, and thus secure 

 the continuance of the pest as a source of 

 trouble in future. We think cultivators do 

 not always treat the weeds as wisely as they 

 might Would the commander who allowed 

 his enemies to entrench themselves and gather 

 reinforcements before he offered them battle, 

 be considered a skilful general? And the 

 farmer who waits till the weeds are firmly 

 rooted, and have grown large and strong, — is 

 he any wiser ? When weeds have attained a 

 firm foothold, it is much more difficult to de- 

 stroy them. You may turn them under or 

 over with the plough or cultivator, but they 

 start up in increased numbers and commence 

 anew the fight for possession. As soon as the 

 rows of plants can be seen, set the cultivator in 

 motion, and turn up the weeds to the rays of 

 the sun, while they are yet tender. Indeed, 



the Western farmers use the harrow, drawn in 

 the direction of the rows, before the shoots of 

 the corn are visible, and say it does not hurt 

 the corn. On old ground, the surface should be 

 stirred as often as a new batch of weeds begins 

 to show itself. If the weeds and plants are 

 allowed to grow together, the weeds will grow 

 the fastest, and monopolize the nutriment in 

 the soil, and starve out the plants. 



In our old soils, this fight with the weeds is 

 an important part of the husbandman's labors. 

 It cannot be put off, like some other work, 

 till a convenient time, but must be attended 

 to at once, and continued so long as the plants 

 continue to grow ; and if one would have an 

 easier contest another year, he must continue 

 it this year through the entire season, and not 

 suffer a weed to mature its seed. 



We have a neighbor who commences early 

 his battle with the weeds in his garden, which 

 is a rich soil and annually filled with manure. 

 He rakes over its entire surface twice a week 

 and keeps it "swept and garnished" all the 

 fore part of the season. When the plants be- 

 come large and thrifty, he gets weary of his 

 work, and leaves plants and weeds . to them- 

 selves, and in the autumn he has a fine crop of 

 weeds, which mature a full store of seeds, so 

 that he may be sure of work for the next year. 

 When he digs his potatoes in the autumn, he 

 mows off a full swarth of weeds before he can 

 find the hills. If he would keep his ground 

 clean through the entire season for a few years, 

 he would find his labors much lightened. "A 

 word to the wise," &c. 



"The sire of gods and men, with hard decrees, 

 Forbids our plenty to behought with ease; 

 And wills that mortal man, iuurei to toil, 

 Should exercise with pains, the grudging soil." 



BUIiES FOR BTJYEKra "WOOL. 

 Recently we made a note, by way of an 

 "agricultural item," of the fact that a Chi- 

 cago convention of manufacturers had pro- 

 mulgated certain rules by which they were to 

 be governed in buying wool. But as it takes 

 two to make a bargain, we supposed the one- 

 third shrinkage resolutions of this association 

 were little better than a "puff of empty air." 

 But taken in connection with similar resolu- 

 tions adopted by a similar convention in 

 Rochester, N. Y., about a year ago, we see 

 by late numbers of the Rural New Yorker, 

 that Dr. Randall treats the matter as one of 



