SOME TYPES OF FOREST WEEDS 



JuDsoN F. Clark. 



From the Standard Dictionary we learn that a "weed" is 

 "any unsightly or troublesome herbaceous plant that is at the 

 "same time useless or comparatively so . . . . ; especially such 

 "a plant as is positively noxious or injurious to crops, . . . also 

 "any herbaceous plant out of place." Had the lexicog- 

 rapher omitted the word "herbaceous" his definition would, 

 I think, describe the greatest bane of rural life to a nicety. To 

 adapt the definition thus amended to forest conditions we must 

 read "wood crops" instead of simply "crops." A shorter defini- 

 tion of the term "forest weed" would be "a plant which is 

 injurious to the reproduction, growth, or quaHty of wood crops." 



I recall having once been taught that all agricultural bugs 

 fall into two classes, viz. : those which feed by eating the plant, 

 and those that live by sucking the plant juices. The individual 

 bugs of each class were said to be very numerous, but the treat- 

 ment of all was simphcity itself, namely, to feed the "biters" 

 with paris green and bathe the " suckers " with kerosene emulsion. 

 Plants which are injurious to the reproduction, growth, or 

 quality of wood crops resemble the agricultural bugs, in that they 

 fall into two classes, both as regards their life habits and methods 

 of treatment. Herbaceous plants and shrubs form one class, and 

 undesirable trees the second. 



The herbs and shrubs are alike in that thev are absolutely 

 dependent for their existence on the light that is able to penetrate 

 through the "canopy" or "crown cover "of the forest. Many herbs 

 and shrubs are killed by even moderate shade, others are killed 

 only by a comparatively dense shading. No herb or shrub can 

 thrive sufficiently to cause appreciable harm under a close crown 

 cover of many of our native forest trees. The hard maple and the 

 beech among the hardwoods, and the hemlock, spruce, and fir 

 among the conifers are especially notable for the density of their 

 shade. The absolute necessity of light for plant development on 

 the one hand and the possibility of shading the forest soil on th 

 other at once suggests the remedy for herbaceous and shrubby 

 forest weeds, which is to establish or maintain a crown cover of 

 at least moderate density where such weeds are troublesome or 

 likely to be so. In the case of groves of trees having open crowns, 

 such as the black walnut, or tulip, or old oak stands, under- 

 planting with beech or hard maple is sometimes resorted to to 

 destroy the weeds and to protect the soil from sun and wind. 



