JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
120 
[ February 10, 1881. 
of destroying them is by cultivation and hoeing, as the varieties 
found in cultivated land are nearly all propagated by seed. In 
pastures or park lands the only way to prevent ill effects whilst 
feeding by dairy cows is to mow them off when in full flower to 
stop their seeding. 
The common Fleabane is a sure indication of a wet barren 
soil. It flowers in August, and usually grows about a foot or 
15 inches in height, with a bright yellow flower, having a star in 
the centre. Land bearing this plant may be 6aid to be worthless 
for pasture or tillage, and should be planted with trees. 
The Coltsfoot is usually found upon strong cold clay soils, and 
often blooms in March before the Violet. The blossom appears 
long before the large grey leaves of the plant; the seed ripens 
early, and the balls of feathery seed expand and assume the 
appearance of a Dandelion puff, the wind carrying the seed far 
and wide ; it is therefore desirable to prevent the seeding, as well 
as to destroy the gross leaves and stems by cutting with a weed 
hook, which if left alone will often deteriorate, and sometimes 
destroy any of our farm crops. To destroy the plants in strong 
land is nearly impossible, and the roots penetrate so deeply 
into the subsoil that we can only hope to check them by deeply 
cultivating the land with the subsoil plough. 
Thistles next demand our attention, not only on account of the 
injury they do, but also in consequence of their great diversity in 
size and habit of growth. The most difficult which we have to 
contend with is a perennial one, which, although not of a gross 
habit, is nevertheless very troublesome, because it roots so deeply. 
On some of our very best loamy soils Thistles are very difficult to 
contend with, and it has been said that their presence indicates 
good land; but this is only partly true, for they are found in 
nearly all soils. To destroy them entirely is out of the question, 
although they may be weakened by hand-pulling in the autumn 
and by subsoiling during the latter part of the summer. Under 
any circumstances they must be cut up with the weed hook, 
because they hardly ever come forward enough to have their 
flowerheads pulled off in the same way as Charlock is treated by 
the weed-eradicating machine. The varieties of Thistles which 
are propagated only by seed are rather numerous. The Musk 
Thistle is of the largest size both in height, leaf, and stem, often 
reaching a height of 6 or 7 feet. Then we have a very dwarf 
Thistle, about 2 or 3 inches high, found mostly on the chalk downs 
or thin pastures on the limestone soils. There are others, all of 
which are derived from seed; and the home farmer will do well 
to keep his fences trimmed and the Tkistles cut whilst in bloom, 
both in woods and on the roadsides. All the annual varieties 
yield to the weed hook, which is practically the only means of 
keeping them down and preventing their seeding. The latter 
unfortunately is often a hopeless case, because so many of our 
neighbours do not take the trouble and incur the expense of 
destroying them. 
Our next remarks apply to weeds found on most strong clay 
soils, which are infested with two kinds of weeds especially—viz., 
the Black Bent Grass and the annual commonly called Yellow 
Cress, bearing a yellow flower. In order to destroy these two 
weeds, which are so injurious to Wheat crops on heavy land, it is 
necessary to drill the Wheat at 12 inch intervals, so that the horse 
and hand hoe can both be employed with effect ; otherwise in 
some seasons—especially after a mild winter, when the Wheat 
comes on early, but on receiving a check it loses colour—these 
weeds would seriously injure the crop unless it is horse-hoed and 
hand-hoed. These weeds are indigenous to the soils named, and 
can only be destroyed when they appear in the way we have 
indicated. 
Upon some of the best heavy loams we find a kind of hedge 
Grass, for it often originates in the fences, and by neglect takes 
root in the cultivated land. It is commonly called Onion Grass, 
because it multiplies and increases underground with numberless 
bulbous roots ; the stems also grow to a great height in the crops. 
It should never be allowed to seed, but the roots should be forked 
out of any crop by hand labour whenever it makes its appear¬ 
ance, because if only one bulb or root is left it will greatly increase. 
The light lands and hill farms—whether of chalk, sand, or gravel 
soils—are subject to various weeds, which it will be necessary to 
name; for besides Charlock, to which we have previously referred, 
we have the blue-blossomed Bugle, the Poppy or Redweed, the 
wild Vetch, the Cockle, the wild Parsnip, and the Knapweed upon 
the chalk and stone soils. All these are annuals arising from seed, 
but they can only in part be destroyed by the weed-eradicating 
machine, the remainder by the weed hook. On the sand and 
gravel soils we have the Corn Marigold, the Henbane Night¬ 
shade, the white-blossomed Morgan, and the red-flowered Sorrel. 
These all indicate that the land is deficient in chalk or lime ; it 
is therefore evident that we may spend much labour in destroy¬ 
ing them every year but in vain, for the only way to prevent 
a succession of such weeds is to chalk the land and neutralise its 
acidity. Upon almost every soil we have a number of Grasses 
and weeds too numerous to mention growing in the hedges, and 
such weeds as the Hogweed and the Burdock are often found on 
the tillage land, also wild Mint and Nettles ; all these should be 
treated iike the Dock—rooted out and removed. Much of the 
weeding now required upon farms in general arises from careless¬ 
ness and neglect of the farmer or his neighbours. Hedges and 
borders may with advantage be cut and trimmed twice a year—in 
May and July ; and the proceeds, except White Thorns, given to 
cattle and pigs, answering the double purpose of keeping down 
weeds and affording food for animals on the farm. 
We must here allude to parasitic weeds, such as Dodder, called 
the Trefoil or Clover Dodder. This is a parasitic plant, the seed 
of which vegetates in the soil, but produces spiral shoots, which 
soon wind round neighbouring plants, and then becoming discon¬ 
nected from the earth derives its sustenance from the juices of the 
living plants of Clover. In some countries the farmer is actually 
debarred from cultivating certain plants, as the Dodder will often 
form a dense network over a whole field, and completely destroy 
the crops. The only way to avoid the Dodder, it being usually 
found in foreign seed, is to grow on the home farm all the seed 
of Clover required, or purchase good home-grown seed, which is 
generally free from the seeds of this weed. 
We must in conclusion, although we have probably omitted 
noticing in this paper some injurious weeds, refer to such as 
we find impeding the growth of Grass in the pastures or park 
lands especially. These may be stated chiefly to consist of Rushes 
and Hassock Grass. The principal Rushes are the large coarse 
bunch Rush and the small Rush. The roots of the latter run 
underground like those of Couch ; the former grows in strong 
bunches, and will live after the land has been drained, and should 
therefore be cut up with the turf knife and burnt. The small¬ 
running Rush will yield to draining and the application of earth 
and manure composts. The Hassock Grass is often found on 
some of the best bullock pastures, but should be cut up and burnt, 
as they often occupy valuable space upon good pastures. 
WORK ON THE HOME FARM. 
Horse Labour .—This will be resumed on the driest soils, such as 
the chalk hills, the stone brash, sands, and gravels, some time before 
the strong or flat-lying loams will bear the tread of the horses. Some 
of the first work which can be done will be ploughing and pressing 
the two-or-three-year-old grass and Saintfoin leas which are intended 
for sowing with Oats or drege. On the chalk soils where water grass 
which runs only on the surface prevails, if ploughing with the skim 
coulter is carefully done and the turf tucked under the furrow, this 
grass will decay during the growth of the Oat crop. It is not so 
upon the sands and gravels containing the white-rooted couch, where 
the ploughing and pressing cannot be done with advantage except 
that weed be absent, when the land can be prepared for Peas and 
other pulse crops. In all these instances the home farmer will notice 
the benefit which must accrue from the use of the new patent press 
drill to which we have lately called attention in our notice of agri¬ 
cultural implements and machinery. We desire also to remind farmers 
of the advantage of mixing Beans with late Peas or winter Vetches 
for spring seeding, as a crop of one of them may be obtained in the 
event of attacks of the black or green aphides, as these seldom appear 
in the same season. The black come in a dry season with east winds, 
the green usually appear when the west or north west winds prevail. 
Now is the time to provide seed Potatoes of the early varieties, be¬ 
cause they require to be laid out upon floors, so that at planting time 
they may be taken to the field and set without breaking off the buds, 
and upon the sand or gravel soils they may be planted at once if the 
weather continues open and moderately dry. We think these early varie¬ 
ties may be planted upon land in which the dung has been buried under 
the stetch, and if carefully dibbled in with the setting stick the early 
sprouted stems are more likely to be preserved than by planting in 
the furrow before the plough. At the time for early Potato planting 
the best and newest early sorts which are offered should be taken in 
small quantities every year, as they are too expensive for planting 
extensively in the field, unless raised by experimental plots to provide 
tubers for future use if they prove valuable for the purpose. 
Hand Labour .—The women may now commence stone-picking on 
the dry soils upon the young Clovers, Saintfoins, &c., or it may be 
deferred until the rolling is done, because on the chalk soils we often 
have to deal with large ragged flints, which the roller does not press 
into the surface out of the reach of the mowing machine or scythe. 
In this case we recommend the home farmer to have a good-sized 
box attached to the frame of the roller, with one or two men or lads 
to follow picking up these flints and placing them in the box as the 
roller proceeds in its work, to be emptied when turning at the head¬ 
land or outside the field. 
Shepherds are now fully employed, as the Hampshire down lambs 
fall daily. Some of the earliest are now forward enough to follow 
the ewes on to the old leas, where they may have Turnips or Swedes 
