Possibility of Destroying Weeds. 25 



noxious weeds is impossible, so long will 

 weeds continue to prevail. To so great an 

 extent is this belief indulged in that it 

 would probably be found a greater task to 

 correct it in the minds of many farmers 

 than to uproot the weeds themselves from 

 their fields. 



To banish weeds completely from any 

 farm will not only require the wise and dil- 

 igent use of measures of a certain charac- 

 ter, which will be described in succeeding 

 chapters, but when once they are gone, it 

 will also require the most persistent watch- 

 fulness to keep them away. With public 

 sentiment on this subject as it is at present, 

 it will be found impossible to get those who 

 are most directly interested to act in con- 

 cert in destroying weeds, hence the work of 

 even materially reducing their numbers will 

 necessarily be slow. The work of banish- 

 ing weeds from any country would not of 

 necessity extend over many years if all the 

 farmers of the country would but act 

 together. The spectacle would then be wit- 

 nessed for the first time of an inhabited 

 country without noxious weeds to harass 

 and annoy the tiller of the soil. Because 

 farmers cannot all be persuaded to put forth 



