20 Weeds. 



Finally, the longer weeds are left to grozv 

 uneheeked, the greater is the labor required 

 to eoinpletely subdue them. Were it not 

 for the presence of weeds, the art of tilhng 

 the soil would be very much simplified. 

 They are more or less responsible for the 

 introduction of the bare fallow, which is 

 not only costly in respect of time, but also 

 involves much labor. Once get the mas- 

 tery of the more noxious forms of weed 

 life, and the bare fallow is no longer an 

 absolute necessity on any farm, except pos- 

 sibly for the conservation of moisture in 

 the semi-arid districts. Weeds also add 

 greatly to the cost of growing crops which 

 require cultivation, such as corn and roots, 

 as those engaged in raising these crops 

 know very well. It would be impossible 

 even to approximate to the cost of labor 

 expended annually in the destruction of 

 weeds, but it is a very large sum, and one 

 that in many portions of this continent is 

 continually increasing, since the cost of sub- 

 duing weeds must always increase as the 

 weeds themselves increase in number. 



