American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1880-05-29

throughout Europe and Asia, and had
its economic uses with the ancients.
The Greeks made lamp-wicks of its
dried leaves, and the Eomans dipped
its dried stalk in tallow for funeral
torches. 1t affects dry uplands in this
country, and, as it takes two years to
mature, it is not troublesome weed in
cultivated crops. The first year it sits
low upon the ground in its coarse fan
mel leaves and makes ready; if the pillow
comes along now its career is ended;
the second season it starts upward its
tall stalk, which in late summer is
thickly set with small yellow flowers,
and in fall is charged with myriads
of fine black seeds. LAS full as a dry
MULLEN stalk of seeds is almost equiv
alent to saying, "as numerous as the
sands upon the sea-shore.
Perhaps tie most notable thing about
the weeds that have come to us from
the Old World, when compared with
bur native species. is their persistence,
pit to say pugnacity. They fight for the
Nj; they plant colonies here and there
| - will not be rooted out Our native
wtds are for the most part shy and
hataless, and retreat before cultiva-
tioA but the European outlaws follow
mahike vermin; they hang to his coat
skir4 his sheep transport them in their
woolAhis cow and horse in tail and
mane1 As have before said, it is as
with 9 rats and mice. The American
rat is Athe woods and is rarely seen
even bHoodmen, and the native mouse
barely hers upon the outskirts of civ
iiizationSvhile the Old World species
defy our laps and our poison, and have
ugnrnan IA kn vxvondc
lake the fstles, for instance; the COM
mon and aAndant one everywhere, in
fields and ing highways, is the Eu-
ropean specAs, while the native thistle
Is much moA shy, and is not at all
troublesome; indeed, am not certain
that have evr seen it. The Canada
thistle, too, whAh came to US by way of
Canada, what aRest, what q usurper.
what defer of be plow and the har-
row! know o<Aut one effectual way
to treat it: to pu6Sn a pair of buckskin
gloves, and pull g every plant that
shows itself; this 1a effect a radical
cure in two summA az course the
pillow or the scythe. Arot allowed to
rest more than monthNt a time, will
finally conquer it.
Or take the common St.Tohn's-wort
(HypericxDs perfordtuza), hoN has it es-
tablished itself In our fields, ana become
a most pernicious weed, very dzdicult
to extirpate, while the native spscies
are quite rare, and seldom or never in
wade cultivated fields, being found
mostly in wet and rocky waste places.
OF Old World origin. too, is the curld
leaf-dock (Rumer Crisp,1s) that is So
annoying about ones garden and home
meadows, its long tapering root cling
ing to the soil with such tenacity that
have pulled upon it till 1 could see
stars without budging it; it has more
lives than q cat, making q shift to live
when pulled up and laid on top of the
ground in the burning summer sun.
Our native docks are mostly found in
swamps, or near them, and are harm
less.
Purslane, commonly called s.pusley,"
and which has given rise to the saying
ssas mean as pusley''-of course is not
American. A good sample of our ma
tive purslane is the Claytonia, or spring
beauty, shy, delicate plant that opens
its rose colored flowers in the most sum
ny places in the woods or along their bor-
ders, so early in the season.
There are few more obnoxious weeds
in cultivated ground than sheep-sorrel,
also an Old World plant, while our ma
tive wood-sorrel, with its white, deli
flowers, or the variety
with yellow flowers. is quite harmless.
The same is true of the mallow, the
vetch, or tare, and other plants.
The European weeds are sophistica-
ted, domcsticated, civilized; they have
been to school to man for many hum
dred years and they have learned to
thrive upon him; their struggle for ex-
has been sharp and protracted;
it has made them hardy and prolific;
they will thrive in lean soil, or they
will wax strong in q rich one; in all
cases they follow man and profit by
him. Our native weeds, on the other
hand, are furtive and retiring; they flee
before the pillow and the scythe, and
hide in corners and remote waste
places. Will they, too, in time, change
their habits in this respectp
Idle weeds are fast in growth"
says SHAKESPEARE, but that depends wheth-
u tho weed finds itself distanced, or
pitted against great odds, it grows more
slowly and is Of diminished stature, but
let it once get the upper hand and see
what strides it makes Red-root will
yrow four or FIVE feet high, if it has
,hance, or it will content itself with a
ew inches and mature its seeds almost
lpon the ground.
Many of our worst weeds are plants
hat have escaped from cultivation, as
he wild radish, which is troublesome in
parts of New England, the wild carrot,
which infests the fields in Eastern New
York, and Eve-forever, which thrives
md multiplies under the pillow and har-
low. In my section an annoying weed
s AbutiLon, or velvet-leaf, also called
q old maid,' which has fallen from the
grace of the garden and followed the
blow afield. 1t will manage to mature
is seeds if not allowed to start till mid
summer.
Weeds have this virtue: they are not
EASILY discouraged; they never lose
ieart entirely; they die game. If they
cannot have the best they will take up
With the poorest; if fortune is unkind
% them to-day, they hope. for better
uck tomorrow; if they cannot lord it
over a corn-hill, they will sit humbly at
IS foot and accept what comes; in all
,ases they make the most of their OPP
,ortunities.-John Burroughs 50 Notes
# a Walker" in Scri6,ser's Monthly.