67 WEEDS 



a chance to get a firm hold of the soil. If they 

 do get a start on you, don't let them ripen. 

 Cut them down before they run to seed at all. 

 Never let up in your war upon them. That 

 advice holds good for all weeds, whether they 

 be annuals, which die every year, biennials that 

 last for two years, or perennials that can stand 

 the winters. The biennials commonly found 

 are wUd carrot, thistle, moth mullein, wild 

 parsnip and burdock. These are best destroyed 

 by cutting the roots below the leaves with a 

 grubbing hoe or spud. Be sure they are cut 

 low enough, else they will branch out and make 

 new seeds. 



Some weeds live more than two years and are 

 called perennials, such as many grasses, dock, 

 Canada thistle, poison ivy, passion-flower, horse- 

 nettle, etc. The best thing to do with them is 

 to dig them out and take them away. Crude 

 sulphuric acid applied to the soil kills them, or 

 they may be starved by covering them with 

 boards or with layers of straw. If they come 

 up through the straw, lift it up a bit and let it 

 fall again. There is yet another method, and 

 if you have the time and land to spare, you will 

 find it a good one. Smother them out by a 

 dense growth of useful plants. Some use buck- 

 wheat and others cowpeas. The cowpeas are 



