WEEDS. 



care iii weeding, some of the seeds 

 will be carried to the barn. We may 

 here observe, generally, that where 

 the grain is reaped by the sickle and 

 a lo.'ig stubble is lel't, the seeds of 

 weeds remain on the land, and al- 

 tliough some of Ihem are eaten by 

 birds, yet many are ploughed in after 

 the stubble has been raked off or 

 mown ; whereas, if the corn is mown 

 or cut close to the ground, wliich is 

 called fagging or bagging it, all the 

 weeds are tied up with the corn, and 

 go into the barn or stack ; and if care 

 be taken in the winnowing and sift- 

 ing of the corn to separate the small- 

 er seeds from the straw and burn 

 them in a heap, the straw will be 

 ciean and the dung of the cattle will 

 contain no seeds of weeds. This is 

 by far the best mode of proceeding ; 

 and by careful hoeing and weeding, 

 and burning the small seeds, the land 

 may be kept tolerably free from seed 

 weeds. 



" The sow thistle (Sonchus olerace- 

 us) often raises its head above the 

 oat. The seeds are blown about by 

 the winds, and if the hedges and head- 

 lands are not kept clear of them, they 

 will sow themselves in all directions ; 

 but It is a conspicuous plant, and ea- 

 sily pulled out by hand before its 

 flower expands. To destroy thistles, 

 in general, it is only necessary to cut 

 them down just as the flower is ex- 

 panding ; the roots will then die, and 

 in a few years, by the united atten- 

 tion of tiie farmers in a district, this- 

 tles may easily be eradicated. In 

 some places the infirm paupers are 

 employed in pulling up all the thistles 

 in the hedges which border the roads, 

 and wherever they make their appear- 

 ance in the higiiways and lanes of a 

 parish. This practice cannot be too 

 generally recommended, for the hedg- 

 es and ditches, and the sides of roads 

 and lanes, are often perfect nurseries 

 of weeds. 



''Arctium lappa (burdock) is a very 

 common weed in fields ; but with a 

 little care it is easily e.vtirpated. 



'• Asrostcmma githago, or corn 

 cockle, is a very injurious weed, be- 

 cause its seeds ripen about the tin^e 



4 B 



I of harvest, and, from its size, cannot 

 be easily separated from the wheat by 

 ' sifting ; it contains a farina, which 

 is oily, and, when ground with the 

 ' corn, greatly deteriorates the flour. 

 The only mode of extirpation is by 

 hand-weeding. 

 I " StcUaria media, or common chick- 

 I weed, is a small plant which grows 

 profusely on light soils which have 

 , been abundantly manured. If it be 

 ! allowed to overspread the ground, it 

 , will choak the young crops, especial- 

 ly turnips, carrots, and all slow-grow- 

 ing seeds. Drilling the crops and 

 early hoeing them is the best means 

 of destroying this weed ; as soon as 

 the crop gets above the chickweed, 

 ! it is soon destroyed, if the latter cov- 

 '. ers the ground well. It often does 

 j harm to young clover, but the latter 

 soon overpowers it. Tares smother 

 it readily. The same observations 

 are applicable to the Spp.rgula arven- 

 sis, or corn spurrey, a larger variety 

 of which, however, is cultivated as 

 excellent food for milch cows. 



'' Galium aparine, or goose grass, 

 also called cleavers, is a weed which 

 is dispersed by the seeds attaching 

 themselves to the wool of sheep by 

 means of hooks with which they are 

 provided. They increase rapidly ia 

 some soils, if they are not carefully 

 pulled up and the hedges cleared of 

 them. 



" Urlica urens, stinging nettles, 

 generally grow- where the ground 

 has been strongly manured, especial- 

 ly where heaps of dung have lain. 

 They are seldom very troublesome, 

 and are easily eradicated by repeated 

 ploughing ; they infest gardens more 

 than fields. 



" Polygonum convohulus, climbing 

 buckwheat, is a very troublesome 

 weed, which winds round the stems 

 of the corn, and often overtops them. 

 The seeds are said to be nutritious, 

 and not to injure the oats when mix- 

 ed with them ; but in wheat it is very 

 destructive, and diminishes the prod- 

 uct while it injures the quality of the 

 corn. 



"All the common grasses are 

 weeds in cornfields, and in the al- 



841 



