WEEDS. 
In popular language, any homely plant which is not noticeable for the 
ene of its flowers, nor entitled to respect by a reputation for medi¢- 
inal or other useful qualities, is designated by the epithet weed. In an 
agri sense, the term is used with a more restricted meaning, and 
is applied to ‘aith intrusive and unwelcome individuals that will persist 
jn growing where they are not wanted,—in short, the best definition that 
has yet been given of a weed is the old one, “a plant out of place.” 
Most of the weeds troublesome in our agriculture are immigrants, ei 
from the Old World, or the warmer portions of this continent. The num- 
ber of plants indigenous to our country, that are entitled to rank as per- 
nicious weeds, is comparatively small. As the aborigines disappeared 
with the advance of the whites, so do the native plants generally yield 
their possession as cultivation extends, and the majority of the plants to 
be met with along the lanes and streets of villages, and upon farms, are 
naturalized strangers, who appear to be quite at home, and are with 
difficulty to be persuaded or driven away. 
The labors of the ee are a a struggle ; on the one 
, he 
hand, by presenting th endeavors 
to make certain plats | grow and produce to their utmost capacity ; and 
on the other hand, he has to prevent the growth of certain other plants 
that are ready to avail themselves of these favorable conditions. The 
farmer is interested in two points concerning weeds: how they get into 
his grounds, and how to get them out. As cultivation is all the more 
profitably carried on if the farmer knows something of the nature and 
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