Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1880-05-13

plant that shows itself; this will effect
course the plow or tho scythe, il not
allowed TO rest more than month at a
time, will finally conquer IL.
Or take the common st. John's.wort
| (HyBericum perforat,tm), how has il estab.
lished itself in our fields, and become a
most pernicious weed, very difficult to
extirpate, while the native species are
quite rare. and seldom or never invade
cultivated fields, being found mostly in
wet and rocky waste places. OF Old
| World origin, too, is the curled leaf.
dock Runner CriSpus) that is so annoying
about ones garden and home meadows,
its long tapering root clinging to the
| soil with such tenacity that | have pull.
ed upon it till could see stars without
budging IL: it has moro lives than a
cat, making a 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 harmless.
Purslane, commonly called "pusley,"
and which has given rise to the saying
''as mean as pusley"-of course is not
American. A good sample Of our ma.
tive purslane is the Claytonia, or spring
beauty, q shy, delicate plant that opens
its rose colored flowers in the moist
sunny places in the woods or along their
borders, 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.
cately veined 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 sophistcat.
ed, domesticated, civilized; they have
been to school to man for many hundred
years and they have learned to thrive
upon him; their struggle for existence
has been sharp and protracted it has
made them hardy and prolific; they will
thrive in lean soil, or they will wax
strong in rich one in all cases they
follow man and profit by him. Our ma
tive weeds, on the other hand, are furtive
aud retiring; they flee before the plow
and the scythe, and hide in corners and
remote waste places. Will they, too, in
time, change their habits in this re-
spect?
idle weeds are fast in growth" ;" says
Shakspere, but that depends whether
the competition is sharp and close. II
the 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 what
strides it makes Red-root will grow
four or five feet high, If il has a chance,
or it will content itself with few inches
and mature its seeds almost upon the
ground.
Many OF our worst weeds are plants
that have escaped from cultivation, as
the wild radish, which is troublesome
in parts OF New England, the wild carrot,
which infests the fields in eastern New
York, and live. forever, which thrives
and multiplies under the plow and har
row. In my section an annoying weed
is AjutiIon, or velvetleaf, also called "old
maid, which has fallen from the grace
OF the garden and followed the plow
a6eld. II will manage 10 mature its
seeds II not allowed to start till mid.
summer.
Weeds have this virtue: they are not
easily discouraged; they never lose
heart entirely; they die game. II they
cannot have the test they will take up
with the poorest; If fortune is unkind
to them to-day. they hope for better
luck tomorrow il they cannot lord il
over a corn hill, they will sit humbly at
it's foot and accept what comes in all
cases they make the most OF their op.
| portunities.