loo Weeds. 



be practically free from weeds by the end 

 of the first rotation, counting from the 

 beginning of the undertaking. 



Many farmers, however, look upon the 

 use of the spud in any way as a chimerical 

 idea. They object to it on the score of the 

 cost of the labor involved in its use ; while 

 the truth, in the mind of the writer at least, 

 is beyond the shadow of a doubt that by 

 no other conceivable means can freedom 

 from noxious weed intrusion be maintain- 

 ed so cheaply, or, indeed, be maintained at 

 all. The matter stands thus : In ordinary 

 practice, the spud is not used. The farmer 

 selects a field to be cleaned by the bare fal- 

 low or some other process. Fairly good 

 work may be done ; but some weeds are 

 sure to be left in the soil, while also some 

 seeds of weeds lie there which will ger- 

 minate and reproduce their kind in abun- 

 dance. Unless the field be gone over with 

 the spud after the manner we have here 

 described, it is entirely probable that in 

 from three to five years the field will be as 

 foul with weeds as when taken in hand at 

 the first. On the other hand, if the spud 

 is used in the manner that we have indi- 



