1 910-19 1 1.] The Weeds of a Garden. 321 



corollas of heavenly blue ? Among strawberries, or in edg- 

 ings of Thyme or London Pride, the flowers of this Speed- 

 well assume as pure an azure blue as in waste places, but is 

 there considered to be " in the wrong place," and we must 

 needs try to have it out, though that is not easy, as it seeds 

 freely, and its stems, when prostrate, throw down roots from 

 the joints into the soil. Veronica arvensis is also plentiful, 

 and forms long flower-spikes, seeding profusely ; but as it 

 grows mostly in the open, and is only an annual, it is not 

 nearly so difficult to cope with as its perennial relative 

 mentioned above. 



The Creeping Buttercup {BamiTiculus repens) also holds 

 high rank among the " undesirables." Its chief power of 

 spreading lies in the habit — implied in its name repens — 

 of throwing out runners like Strawberry plants, which form 

 young plants with roots at every joint. But as these runners 

 are abovegvowxidi, this enemy is not nearly so difficult to over- 

 come as are Vicia Sepium and Eumex Acetosella with their 

 undergroxmdi runners, yards long, throwing up young plants 

 at every few inches. Once in, there is no getting them out. 

 Another troublesome subterranean worker is the Field Mint 

 {Mentha arvensis), with its thick, white, underground stems, 

 called " lamb's tongue " in some rural districts. A little plant 

 which I find unexpectedly troublesome is Pearlwort {Sagina 

 procumhens). In damp soil (and the soil I have to deal with 

 is damp enough) it often forms a complete carpet in beds 

 of carrots, onions, &c., where, being of small size and spread- 

 ing (procumbent), it is difficult to pick out. And then how 

 it does seed ! Another plentiful seed-producer is Cardamine 

 hirsuta, a kind of " artillery plant," opening its pods with 

 a bang, and scattering its seeds to some distance, like the 

 whin. Often, when pulling up this cress, I have received 

 a charge of minute shot in the face, for the ripe capsules 

 open at the slightest touch, projecting their seeds upwards 

 to a distance of two feet or more. 



Most of the plants already mentioned have small and 

 inconspicuous flowers. Each and all are highly interesting 

 when minutely examined. Take the common Chickweed, so 

 plentiful everywhere, and forming great thickets wherever it 

 can. Its small flowers are beautifully formed, and along its 



