68 Weeds, 



them is meant keeping them constantly 

 under ground. If creeping perennials are 

 kept beneath the surface of the ground for 

 some months during the early spring and 

 summer, they will perish in a single season, 

 and this result will be gained whatever may 

 be the means made use of to effect it, 

 whether spudding, plowing, cultivating, or 

 covering. 



It is sometimes asserted, and the asser- 

 tion is commonly accepted as true, that 

 creeping pereimials are more difficult to 

 destroy than other classes of weeds. This 

 assertion is supported by the specious argu- 

 ment, that whereas creeping perennials have 

 two means of propagation, (i) their seeds, 

 and (2) their creeping root-stocks, which 

 push their way through the soil in every 

 direction, annual and biennial weeds, and 

 ordinary perennials also, have but one 

 means of propagation, namely, their seeds 

 alone. It should be remembered that, in 

 making this comparison, other things have 

 to be considered. We must also take into 

 account the number of seeds produced by 

 each sort of weed, their vitality, and the 

 modes by which these seeds are distributed 

 and fresh plants produced, the crops that 



