is our own, for it is only by putting a bit of ourselves into our gardens 
that we give them that rarest of gifts, charm. 
Louise S. Hubbard. 
Garden Pests and Remedies 
The Weed The surprise is that more discussion and more attention are not 
Problem given to the weed problem. Weeds decrease our crop yields to such 
an enormous extent, they interfere so seriously with our farming 
operations, and they cause such tremendous losses in dollars, that con- 
certed effort should be directed to their reduction and eradication. 
Any community, large or small, that sets itself the task of practically 
eliminating its weeds and adopts and sticks to a program of action, can 
work wonders. It is quite certain that everyone knows what a "weed" 
is. Probably no one of us has had the term defined but our conception 
of its meaning is very clear. It may be that at one time in our early 
days we were told to pull the weeds in the Corn field or garden; to 
mow the weeds along the fence; and at such a time it is certain that 
no words of explanation were needed to indicate which the weeds were. 
We have come to consider as "weeds" those plants which tend to grow 
where they are not desired; plants which tend to resist man's efforts to 
subdue them; plants which resist frost, heat, dryness; which will 
grow in almost any kind of soil and under all conditions; plants which 
produce seeds in enormous numbers and have other rapid methods of 
propagation; plants in themselves sometimes truly beautiful, but 
that have for us lost their charm; plants useless and troublesome. 
Emerson said of a weed: "A plant whose virtues have not yet been 
discovered." 
A large Purslane plant will produce 1,250,000 seeds; a single Rus- 
sian Thistle plant will ripen 100,000 to 200,000 seeds; TumbUng 
Mustard, 1,500,000; Shepherd's Purse, 50,000. 
The seeds of many weeds are very small and escape notice. A 
pound of Clover Dodder has 1,841,360 seeds; Common Plantain, 
1,814,360 seeds; Lamb's Quarters, 604,786 seeds; Russian Thistle, 
266,817 seeds; Wild Mustard, 215,995 seeds; Wild Oats, 25,493 
seeds. If 60 pounds of Wheat are planted to the acre, and this 
Wheat has 2 per cent of Wild Mustard seed, there will be distributed 
over that acre 388,791 Mustard seeds. 
Not only do weeds produce seeds in tremendous numbers, but 
seeds with an ability to live a long time. The seeds of some 
weeds, when buried in the soil, may retain their power to 
germinate for 15 to 30 years. Such is true of the seeds of Tall 
Pigweed, Black Mustard, Shepherd's Purse, Dock, Yellow Foxtail, 
Chickweed and others. 
— Colorado Experiment Station Bulletin. 
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