Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1877-07-13
Weeds.

Professor Prentiss, of Cornell, saws:
The popular notion of a weed is that it
is an entirely useless plant. The agri-
cultural idea is that weeds are plants
growing among our crops and encroach-
ing upon them. A plant which under
certain circumstances becomes a very
troublesome weed under other circum-
stances is useful plant And often
plants which are carefully cultivated as
farm crops so intrude themselves to the
injury OF other crops as to be most
troublesome weeds. Hence, as gener
a! definition, weed is any plant out of
place.
have attempted classification of
weeds with reference to the kinds of
crops, or rather conditions of soil. which
they infest:-
First-Weeds of cultivated ground.
These include those which are trouble
some in cornfelds, gardens, and with
| all hOed crops.
Second-Weeds of grain fields and of
sOwed crops.
Third-Wceds of pastures and mead
ows
Fourth-Weeds of waste places.
On investigation we find that nearly
all are foreigners. Indeed, nearly all
our plants of cultivated regions in
America, like the inhabitants, have come
from foreign countries. OF all our
grains and prominent farm products only
| two, Indian corn and potatoes, are ma
tives OF America The rest have been
brought here at periods more or less re-
mote by people emigrating to these
shores. Our domestic animals are all
natives OF other countries, For yermin
traits, mice, etc. we are indebted to for
eign countries, and of noxious insects
we have only one prominent native-the
potato beetle-with which you are quite
too well acquainted. Man, himself, is
foreigner. We speak of the Irishman,
or the German, or the Chinaman as for
eigners, as though we had a native in
heritance of the soil, but we are all for
| eigners, for the natives of America, the
Indians, are nearly extinct. So Ameri
can weeds are for the most part import
ed. Of the total 100 kinds 40 are of
forei On origin, and only twenty are in
digenOus to America, OF the tifty-four
weeds of culture we find that forty
two are natives of Europe, one native
of tropical America, and eleven are ma
tives of the United States, the single
arrival from tropical America being pig
con weed, or what is called red root in
Michigan. 1t is very troublesome
weed in that State, but it is not so com
mon here. Besides being hardy and Wig
orous, plant to be success as weed
must be very fruitful and multiply its
elf rapidly We find that single plant
of our worst weeds is capable of from
1000 to $4,000 seeds. shall give later
the number of seeds which single plants
of the different kinds of weeds have
been known to produce. The next quail
ity which is of Importance is facility for
dissemination. Some are provided with
wings and pappus, as the dandelion, tthis-
tie, etc. These are carried long distanc-
es on the wind, and serve to spread their
species over wide regions. Anothers pc-
cies of weeds has it's seeds provided with
barbs, by which they cling to the cloth
ing of men, the hair of animals, or even
to the feathers Of birds, and in this way
they make their journeyings to new
fields and to new regions. There are
other miscellaneous provisions for dis
seminating weeds. The seeds become
mixed with the seeds Of useful plants,
and in this way we plant weeds which
ever after are pest to us.