CHOOSING YOUR OWN WEEDS 175 



inexcusably, until its plants and their plumes 

 dominate the place for months. 



Here, it may be noted, the "plant out of place" 

 definition is susceptible of more than one appli- 

 cation. To my friend, grass is the only plant good; 

 to me, his introductions are most certainly weeds 

 in this garden of God's planting. 



I think I may construct my own definition of a 

 weed as, in the first place, a plant of persistent 

 and spreading growth that is not sufficiently 

 beautiful in foliage or flower to commend it for 

 its own sake; or as a plant attractive in itself that 

 tends to possess the land to the exclusion of all 

 else. Thus the ox-eyed daisy is unquestionably a 

 weed, even though it is beautiful, because it 

 spreads rapidly and persistently, so that whole 

 fields on the careless farm wave with its flowers, 

 and justify the gibe of Dr. Bailey of Cornell, who 

 said to me, when once we passed such a display 

 of neglect, "That man is not a farmer; he's a 

 florist!" This same Dr. Bailey's definition of a 

 weed as "a plant not wanted" is simple enough, 

 and true. 



Of the first class of weeds are those I found per- 

 vading the land when we came to Breeze Hill. On 

 the preliminary trip to "look out" the place, the 

 ladies of the family accumulated on their clothing 



