196 



AGRICULTURE 



of these are native Americans; all have been brought from the 

 Old World. 



Wild Carrot. The wild carrot (JDau'cus caro'ta), called also 

 bird's nest, devil's plague, or Queen Anne's lace, is a troublesome 



biennial, the original of our garden 

 carrot. It grows from New England 

 southward to Georgia and westward 

 to Ohio. It is so troublesome in some 

 states that laws have been passed 

 against letting it go to seed. The wild 

 carrot has a pretty white blossom and 

 graceful, finely-cut foliage. It thrives 

 on almost any soil and takes posses- 

 sion of waste places. The best way to 

 destroy it is to pull the young plants 

 up by the roots, or to cut them before 

 they mature seed. 



How to destroy Biennials. Bien- 

 nials are more difficult to get rid of 

 than annuals. When young, they can 

 be destroyed by cutting or pulling 

 them up. When they are several 

 months eld, they can be removed only 

 by deep cutting with a grubbing hoe, or with a spud, which is 

 a sharp, narrow spade. Any plant which escapes the hoe should 

 be cut before it blooms. Weeds, especially biennials and peren- 

 nials, should never be allowed to mature seed. 



Perennials. The most troublesome of all weeds are the 



perennials. Most of these long-lived plants are reproduced both 



by seeds and by running roots, and their destruction is difficult. 



Among perennial weeds are the bindweed or morning-glory. 



WILD CARROT 



