J 



64 WEED S, 23, 



to work its total extirpation from a foil it af- 

 fedls, is fcarcely poflible. Neverthelefs, it 

 ought to be the ambition of every farmer to 

 approach as nearly as he can to this firft 

 thing defirable with refped: to weeds ; for, 

 in endeavouring to overcome this, lefs power- 

 ful enemies will fall imperceptibly. 



CoucHGRASS. This plant, viewed bota- 

 nically, is of the fame genus as wheat : 

 forming its parts of frucftification in the fame 

 manner ; and, what is noticeable, its roots 

 contain a milky juice refem.bling in tafle the 

 milky grains of unripe wheat. 



But nutritious as thefe roots undoubtedly 

 are, and valuable as their dietetic and medi- 

 cal properties may be, they are frequently 

 ranked as the iirft, and may properly be con- 

 sidered as the fecond, enemy of the arable 

 farmer. 



As a worm-rcotcd plant, the couch-grafs 

 :3 certainly entitled to precedency among 

 the weeds ot corn • but its feeds have not 

 wirigs; nor do they fcarcely ever reach ma- 

 turity in ^rahk lands. 



Its method of propagation, there, is en- 

 tirely by KooTs ; which, in a loofc rich foil, 



will 



