WEED LESSONS 



G. A. BRICKER, Agricultural Education, Ohio State University 



A weed has been defined as a plant growing in the wrong 

 place. From the standpoint of the farmer, weeds may be defined 

 as uneconomic plants. They are frequently a source of great 

 annoyance to farmers. Some weeds are more to be dreaded than 

 others, and farm boys should learn about the different kinds and 

 some of the most important facts about them. In order to study 

 weeds it will be necessary to refer to various publications. In 

 addition to references included in "List of Useful References for 

 Study of Weeds" page — , Gray's "Manual of Botany of the 

 Northern United States," and Mathews' "Field Book of Amer- 

 ican Wild Flowers" may be found helpful. 



In a few years all the weeds of the community may be in- 

 cluded in the "Weed Herbarium" of the local school. These 

 herbariums should be open for the inspection of the people of 

 the neighborhood, and thus it will naturally come to be a source 

 of useful information to them. 



In case a weed is secured that cannot be identified it should 

 be carefully packed in a pasteboard box and sent to the State 

 College of Agriculture for identification. 



A WEED HERBARIUM. 

 (A practicum.) 



Make a collection of the worst common weeds of the com- 

 munity. Mount them on cardboards of uniform size, 12 by 18 

 inches. Label them properly and preserve them for future ref- 

 erence. 



To mount the weed specimens, the following directions 

 should be followed. Secure a specimen of the weed desired that 

 will go on the mounting card. Thoroughly cleanse it. Im- 

 merse the plant for three to five minutes in a bath of alum water, 

 which is made by putting two ounces of powdered alum into 

 each gallon of water used. Remove the specimen from the bath, 

 dry it, and place it on the cardboard in the desired position. Now 

 cut off all stems on the under side that interfere with its lying 

 perfectly flat. Thick stems, roots, blubs, 'and other enlargements 

 should have their under half cut away, and the remaining half 

 should be hollowed out. Transfer the specimen to an ironing 

 board well padded with paper or cloth, cover it with a cloth, and 

 iron it with a hot iron until dry. Turn the specimen over, heavily 

 smear the underside of all its leaves, stems, and roots, with 

 library paste- Turn the specimen back, and replace it on the 



