29G 
HOEING, RAKING, AND WEEDING. 
Where it is desirable to clear a piece of 
ground overrun with perennial weeds, and to 
bring it into proper condition for the growth of 
vegetables or flowers, there is no better way 
than to pare off the surface vegetation, with 
about an inch deep of the soil, and to char it ; 
the charred ashes then form a very useful 
addition to the ground, whatever its nature 
may be ; and the weeds and rubbish can in no 
other way be turned to so good account. If 
the ground bore only perennial plants with 
fibrous roots, the paring, if done fully to the 
depth recommended, would effectually clear 
them ; but if, as usually happens, there are any 
among them with the creeping root-stems, it 
will be necessary, in the next place, to see to 
the removal of these as far as possible. The 
ground, if intended for purposes of cultivation, 
would require trenching, as a matter of course; 
and in doing this, the upper spit — or from the 
surface the necessary depth — should be turned 
over carefully with a fork, and all the pieces 
of the creeping root-stems of such plants as 
couch-grass and bindweed, and the tap-roots 
of such as docks, dandelions, &c, carefully 
picked out, removed, and burned (charred). 
If this were done carefully, there would be but 
little left to spring up the following year ; but 
the ground would probably contain seeds 
which would produce seedling plants, and 
these must be destroyed by cutting them up 
or pulling them when quite young. If any of 
the plants make their appearance with any 
vigour the succeeding year, it is advisable to 
dig them out as deep as they run, with a fork 
or spade, removing, as before, every atom 
that can be seen, as the smallest piece of many 
kinds, if left in the ground, would at once 
produce a vigorous plant. 
As soon as the ground is got comparatively 
clear, there is little trouble either in keeping 
them down or in destroying them altogether. 
It is an effectual recipe, to continually hoe them 
off as often as they form new shoots; if this is 
done they cannot long exist, the effort to put 
forth fresh leaves entirely exhausting the 
plant. When, however, it is attempted to get, 
rid of them by this process, they must not be 
allowed to grow up large and vigorous be- 
tween each cutting ; this would add fresh 
strength to the root, and prolong the struggle; 
they must be cut off immediately as soon as 
they make their appearance, the efficacy of 
the practice lying principally rather in strik- 
ing the blow at the proper time than in the 
magnitude and power of the effort itself. 
It is often worth while to adopt special 
means to clear off perennial weeds. Thus, 
when such plants as dandelions, daisies, &c. 
abound on lawns, as is often the case, they 
require to be dug out carefully without break- 
ing up the turf ; and sometimes, on cultivated 
ground it may be desirable to dig out the 
plants, especially if they are of the tap-rooted 
kinds. Whenever the latter are dug up they 
ought to be entirely removed, to the very 
extremity of the root, if possible, or the part 
left in the ground will throw out new shoots. 
So, whenever it is attempted to dig up the 
creeping-rooted kinds, every little particle of 
the root should be removed, or else these par- 
ticles will each send up shoots and form so 
many plants. Neither in the case of tap- 
rooted, or creeping-rooted weeds, is it at all 
effective towards destroying them, to hoe them 
along with other weeds in the ordinaiy routine 
of hoeing ; for after this, at first, they only 
spring again the more numerous and more 
vigorous. If this plan of destroying them is 
adopted, it must be made a special object ; 
they must not be cut off once, and then a 
second time, when a new crop becomes thick 
on the ground. As already stated, they must 
be cut off continuously as fast as they spring 
ujj, without giving them time to become de- 
veloped and to gain new strength. 
It is a rather common practice, in digging 
up flower borders, to dig in such portions as 
are trimmed off from the patches of herba- 
ceous plants. In some cases, where the plant 
has only fibrous roots, this gives rise to no 
inconvenience; but if the plant is at all in- 
clined to produce creeping stems, these trim- 
mings become a great source of annoyance, 
throwing up a crop of young shoots, wherever 
they may chance to be buried. Such patches, 
when not required for planting elsewhere, are 
better removed to the rubbish heap, and either 
burnt or charred. 
The principal perennial weeds which are 
found troublesome in gardens are the follow- 
ing: — Of creeping-rooted habit, coltsfoot 
(Tussilago Farfara), couch grass (Triticum 
repens, and others), bindweed (Convolvulus 
sepium), and nettle (Urtica dioica). Wher- 
ever it once gains a footing the dwarf elder 
(SambucusEbulus) is very troublesome; so are 
some of the species of woundwort (Stachys sp.) 
And of garden plants of this class which prove 
troublesome, must be specially named the 
horse-radish (Armor acea rusticana), and the 
various mints (Mentha sp.) Of tap-rooted 
plants, the most common as a weed in gar- 
dens is certainly the dandelion (Taraxacum 
officinale), which abounds almost everywhere. 
In damp situations the various kinds of dock 
(Rumex sp.) are very troublesome, but they 
hardly so much affect the garden as the field. 
Examples of fibrous-rooted perennial weeds 
are met with in the case of the daisy (Bellis 
perennis), which is common in most places; the 
plantain (Plantago, ma,] or and media) ; the 
different kinds of crowfoot (Ranunculus sp.), 
in damp situations; the sorrels (Rumex acetosa 
