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 wild 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 
