XVI What is a Weed ? 



WEEDS are no natural class of plants, but the out- 

 come of man's strife with nature. If we could 

 still live in harmony with nature that is to say, 

 like animals there would be no such things as 

 weeds. The thorns and thistles which vex us 

 have their due places in the wild, and are beneficial 

 to many of its creatures. They became weeds 

 when man began to change the face of the earth 

 in accordance with his own needs and desires. For 

 nature is impartial to all her children ; she has none 

 of man's preferences for myrtle and fig trees over 

 briars and thorns. The same soil nurses both 

 alike ; and when man chooses to introduce his 

 distinctions, he has to work to make his wishes 

 good. 



Since weeds are simply plants growing where we 

 do not want them, the same plant may or may not 

 be a weed according to the place in which it appears. 

 The Shirley poppy that springs in an asparagus 

 bed is as much a weed as a cabbage in the rose- 

 garden. Some plants with a double gift are equally 

 well fitted to take their place in either the vegetable 

 or the flower garden ; but if they have once made 

 their reputations by serving tables, few English 

 gardeners will tolerate them on the honourable 

 side of the hedge. Abroad, indeed, not all 



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