1871.] 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



549 



THE 'WEEDS "WE MAKE! 



o.ME of the richest 

 plants which we cul- 

 tivate for table use, 

 even in garden 

 beds, may, by neg- 

 lect, become the 

 most pestilent of 

 ifiaymt w pests. One of them, 



WJV ( > I % tevi^^^^HAJ-'r-' The "Wild Carrot. 

 Darlington, in 

 his valuable work on 

 <3 l-~^^A^^^i^ "Weeds and Use- 

 <^')'l/9lJm\sy^ ful Plants," states 



that the carrot is a 

 native of Europe 

 and the East. We 

 give it a hearty 

 welcome in this 

 Western world so 

 long as it is kept in 

 a cultivated condi- 

 tion. Just as we 

 regard fire or our domestic animals, — when 

 subjected to our control, excellent ; when 

 sweeping around at will, pestilent and dan- 

 gerous. 



The carrot is a valuable plant for the table, 

 for houses, swine and neat cattle. In our 

 modes of cultivating, perhaps it costs too 

 much to be profitable for the latter stock. 



When the seeds of the carrot are allowed 

 to scatter themselves profusely over the 

 ground, and remain unmolested for a few 

 years, they become one of the most persistent 

 and incorrigible weeds with which we have to 

 deal. They exist on the road sides in some 

 of our best farming to'wns, so as to cover the 

 ground with a dense vegetation some two or 

 three feet high. The number of seeds which 

 they produce is beyond calculation, and when 

 ripe, are scattered by autumnal winds over 

 the fields of all adjacent farms. 



The same process takes place in the 



Eich and Marrow-like Parsnip. 



This plant produces many seeds, and when 

 these are neglected and suffered to sow them- 

 selves at random, they spring up the next 

 year, go to seed, speedily degenerate, and in 

 the course of a few years become a trouble- 

 some and unsightly weed. 



By the use of persistent skill, many plants 

 may be brought up from a bitter, tough, or 



pungent condition, to a mild, succulent and 

 tender state, so as to furnish a large amount 

 of wholesome and nutritious food for man and 

 beast. 



The original potato was small, and was not 

 tolerated as human food for a long time. 

 They are mentioned by old writers as "a deli- 

 cate dish," and that they were roasted, and 

 then steeped in sack and sugar, or baked with 

 marrow and spice. They were long consid- 

 ered as inferior food, and it was not until the 

 middle of the eighteenth century that they 

 came into general cultivation. A strong pre- 

 judice long existed against them in France, 

 but they are now cultivated extensively, and 

 a market in Paris is exclusively devoted to 

 their sale. Now they are introduced into 

 almost every quarter of the globe, and the 

 varieties in use are entirely the result of 

 cvltlvation ! 



Another plant, common upon many of our 

 tables, is 



The "Wholesome, Crisp Celery. 



Originally, this was a tough, acrid plant, 

 unfit for man or beast, as food, but is now 

 esteemed a great delicacy. 



In the grass field, before us, as we write, 

 are the flaunting purple flowers of the 

 Chicory or Succory. 



The root of this plant makes up a consid- 

 erable portion of the coffee of the shops, mixed 

 with ground peas and a portion of the genuine 

 article. It is one of the most tenacious plants 

 in existence, and if not carefully suppressed 

 will overrun the whole ' farm. The root is 

 large, quite long, and holds on to the soil 

 with such tenacity that a plant of two years' 

 growth requires a man's strength to pull it 

 up. It is cultivated largely in England as a 

 substitute for coffee. 



All these plants, and many others, have a 

 tendency to go back to their original condi- 

 tion, and if allowed the opportunity would 

 probably do so. By careful cultivation, how- 

 ever, we can preserve them 



"Delectable both to behold and taste," 

 and give us no trouble as trespassers vipon cul- 

 tivated crops in the form of unsightly weeds. 



— Over 800 acres are devoted to tobacco in East 

 and South Windsor, Conn., this year ; greater in 

 extent tlian all other cultivated crops except grass; 

 and the yield will be greater, per acre, than ever 

 before produced. 



