54 Weeds. 



long distances, till at length they find a rest- 

 ing place. Then, when spring arrives, they 

 begin their work of reproduction. 



In the carrying and driving power of the 

 wind, we find an explanation of what would 

 otherwise be difficult of solution, namely, 

 the sudden appearance of weeds in count- 

 less numbers in areas which have been 

 broken for the first time, or from which 

 the forests have been but recently removed. 

 In some instances, the weeds appear in 

 numbers so great that for a time they form 

 the principal product of the soil. It is this 

 phenomenon which has given rise to the 

 baseless opinion, still cherished by many, 

 that weeds originate spontaneously, spring- 

 ing into life without a seed germ, or else 

 that they grow from seed which has been 

 for ages lying in the soil. 



i/j.. Inherent pozvers of the weeds them- 

 selves. Weeds also spread and distribute 

 themselves by means of what may be 

 termed their own inherent powers ; that is 

 to say, by ripening seeds which are shed 

 on the ground around the parent stem, or 

 by means of creeping root-stocks. By the 

 former method, whole families are often 

 reproduced around one parent stem in a 



