A STUDY OF WEEDS IMPORTANT 



I am invited to address you this afternoon on the subject of 

 weeds. I am sure you will agree with me that this is a most 

 important subject for the farmers of Iowa and those who are in- 

 terested in making our state beautiful. The weeds in villages, 

 cities, along the highways and on our farms are a continual men- 

 ace to the agriculture of this state. It is important that we be- 

 gin to realize the menace that weeds are to our agriculture. Iowa 

 should realize the importance of this problem and we should be- 

 gin at once to clean up, because it is far more economical to do 

 so now than in a decade. 



WHAT IS A WEED. 



A weed has been defined as a plant out of place. This defini- 

 tion is concise, but is as good as any. Oats growing in a wheat 

 field, if not wanted there, must be looked upon as a weed. A 

 weed may also be defined as a plant detrimental to the growth 

 of a garden or farm crop, in short detrimental to horticulture 

 and agriculture. A great many people regard plants which have 

 inconspicuous 'flowers as weeds; they exclude, of course, such 

 plants as are cultivated for some purpose. Such people regard 

 the inconspicuous plants of the forest as weeds, forgetting that 

 plants like the Dutchman's Breeches, Bloodroot and Hepatica 

 are most useful plants in the forest and are just as much a 

 part of it as the oak or maple. They do not, however, regard 

 blu' rass as a weed. In the forest, however, bluegrass must be 

 reg /rded as a weed. In a bluegrass pasture such plants as f ox- 

 tai/, golden rod, vervain and crabgrass are weeds. They check 

 the growth of this useful forage plant. 



KIND OF WEEDS. 



Weeds may be classified according to their duration of life 

 into the following classes; annual, winter annual, biennial and 

 perennial. 



Annual. The annual weeds are the most numerous and are 

 easily recognized. The seed germinates in the spring, it sends 

 up a stem which produces flowers and seeds the same season and 

 then dies. Foxtail, ragweed or kinghead, smartweed, crabgrass, 

 horseweed belong to this class. A large number of our weeds 

 belong to this class. 



Winter Annual. These weeds do not differ essentially from 



