The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1883-03-15
weeds-where Do They Come From.

A correspondent inquiries: ''Why is
it that gardens which have been kept
clear Of weeds for years will be, each
spring, infested with them. Where do
they come frOm?''
A good many have asked this ques-
ton before, and it is one of the pulling
things in nature to those who have new
er given il a careful study. Now, how
many seeds will a single weed produce?
Let US see. 1t s found by invest ga
ton that the common mayweed IS set
down for 40 900, the daisy for -, 0,
the dandeliOn for 5000, the dock for
$4,000, the thistle for POO Q, the cookie
for 2,6OO, the mustard for {, 5000, the
burdock, 26, 600, etc, etc. Each of
these seeds is so thoroughly protected
by its hard shell that it is possible for
it to lie in the tn for a long series of
wears no one can tell how long-with-
out any damage to the germ of life with
in. 1t only needs sunshine and ar to
develop it. Imagine, now, a field of
thousands of separate specimens of any
one Of the weeds named, or others be-
side. and see the millions of germs that
must be launched on the world each fall,
to be scattered by the winds in every
direction Evidently some weed seeds
must be indestructible, for varieties not
be ore seen spring up when the ground
has been freshly turned-depOsited
there no one can tell how long be ore.
A piece O new breaking will demon
strate this. producing, as it a most in
variably will, the well known tumble
weed, - an entirely new weed to the To-
| cality. A year ago last fall we seeded
down q field to timothy and clover that
hal failed to catch in the spring. There
I IL, 90 - in lou
portion of it which had gone to seed
! As every resident of Minnesota will re-
member, the season was extremely wet
/ 1t rained almost continuously from the
! 1st Of september till the ground was
| froze, and it would seem as if every in
! dividual seed of that mart-weed which
/ had cen set a oat had sprouted, for n
/ the spring the whole field was so thick
/ ly coated with this pest that the grass
| seed could scarcely be seen. AS soon
/ as it had grown enough so that it cou,d
/ be cut it was moved down, this process
/ ke9t up through the summer. The tim
| othy and clover finally got start, and
! by fall there was a good stand of it.
| But the immense quantity of smart
weed that had started from the original
! small patch, was a mystery almost I'M
! accountable. The wet season had de-
/ velOped them and showed what a myTi-
/ adj had been set a9oat from a small cen
/ ter. IN field some distance away, the
/ year before, was patch of . bull
! thistles." The air was filed with the
! downy seeds for DAYS after they were
l ripe, and the ground in every directiCn
was thickly covered with a white carpet
/ of seeds. We expected to see about a
million of new tn stiles last year but
/ fortunately they d d not sprout, though
I GAnIG of Il
/ eddy lie dormant to spring up ut some
| future time when the conditions are IA
vorable The moral of all this Is that
constant Wig lance is the price of clean
/ fields. An hours work on the young
| shoots is equivalent TO n days labor lat
er on; and the farmer can take what
comfort he chooses from the thought
that there are buried millions of fresh
weeds still unsprouted. ready to come
mp smiling, just as soon as he folds his
hands for rest.-St Paul Press.