8 A MANUAL OF WEEDS 



even loss of human life is sometimes due to the deadly poison of the 

 Hemlock, through the mistaking of its tuberous roots for harmless 

 artichokes. In the Great Plains Region, horses and cattle are 

 killed or made worthless by the " Loco Weeds." Some wild grasses, 

 such as the Squirrel-tail Grass, or Wild Barley, and the Porcupine 

 Grass, cause injury to the animals that graze on them by the 

 lodgment of their barbed awns in the lining of mouth, throat, and 

 stomach, causing painful inflammation, ulceration, and death. 

 Milk, butter, and cheese are rendered unmarketable by the taint of 

 Wild Onion or Garlic and the bitter Mustards. Cockles "cut the 

 grade" of the wheat and spoil the flour if ground with it. Tick- 

 seeds and burs yearly lessen the value of the wool-clip from the 

 farmer's flocks. Altogether, the losses sustained by the American 

 farmer from this cause are greater than he suspects or would believe. 

 A needless loss, too ; for there is no weed so vicious that it cannot 

 be subdued, with profit to the owner of the soil, if its habits are 

 well understood and sufficient determination goes to the battle. 



But nothing in the world is so bad as to be entirely evil. It is 

 only fair to admit that weeds do sometimes perform useful services 

 to the land. Their presence compels tillage, and the most profitable 

 farming is that which keeps the ground well tilled. They form the 

 greater part of the covering which Nature promptly spreads over 

 soil that the shiftless cultivator has left bare and neglected, keeping 

 it from being blown about by winds, washed away by flood or rain, 

 or baked into a barren desert by the sun. And such a weed- 

 blanket, if turned under the ground in preparing it for a better crop, 

 will supply the soil with green manure or humus, which it very much 

 needs. It is not the best type of feeding crop for the land, but it is 

 better than none. It is well that Nature is thus able to redeem the 

 sins of slothful and selfish men, but her processes are too slow. The 

 world grows no larger and its population increases very fast. The 

 surest hope of its continued comfort and prosperity lies in better 

 husbandry. 



