St. Paul daily globe., 1892-06-13
ALL ABOUT WEEDS.
A Scientific Chapter on the
Tramps of the Vegetable
World.
Any Innocent Plant Out Of It's
Proper Place Is a
Weed.
Weeds Have Queer Methods
of Migrating. From Shore
to Shore.
On Wings of the Wind and on
River Bosoms They
Come.

Prof Byron D. HalStedin the Popular Science
Monthly for June.
Some plants. naturally, are better
fitted to subServe the wants of man than
others, and for the growth of these he
puts forth special effort; in short. the
whole underlying foundation of modern
agriculture rests upon methods of favor
inc these plants and thereby enlarging
and multiplying those qualities in them
that led to their being chosen by man as
objects of cultural attention. The weeds
have grown strong because Obliged TO
fight their way and take every possible
advantage wnen opportunity offers.
They quickly win in the lace for
supremacy in every field devoted
to cultivated crops when mans care is
withheld. and multiply their kind TO an
extraordinary extent. More reasonable
ii would be to expect a man, under the
SOftening influence of civilized life. 10
win in the rough race for existence
when placed, unaided, among savage
Indians. than TO hope for the success OF
a parSnlp or onion seeding when sur
rounded by rank growth Of weeds.
al
plant that Cain-like curses 1t forever
No part of the leaf, stem. fruit or flower
gives conclusive evidence that it be-
longs to a weed, and therefore we are
forced back to the definition that was
accepted a long time ago, namely, "a
weed is plant out of place" Its re
latiOn TO others makes plant week.
The Canada Thistle and the Horse
Naf1Ie.
There is possibility of any kind of
plant being weed, but this thought
does not prevent some species always
being out of place. For example. there
is no function in the economy of the
farm garden that the Canada thistle
can do as well as many other plants.
As forage plant. or source OF nutri-
tiOuS seeds OF beautiful flowers. the
pigweedS are a substantial failure,
equaled only by their success in occu-
pying the soil and rObbing it Of nOuriSh-
ment designed for useful plants. 1t
would puzzle any one to find proper
place for the hOrSe-nettle. now advanc-
ing upon the Eastern farmers from the
Southwest. and destined to spread its
hOrrid. nrickly, worse than worthless
branches over our cultured soil. The
bur-graSS, cOckle-burs. bnrdock and a
long list of cOngenerS are practically |
universal everyday curses from which |
all earnest crop growers wish to be |
free.
s'StOwaEayS.''
Most Of our weeds. like much of our
veTniny, bave come to Us from beyond |
the sea. Just how they emigrate in |
every case viii never be KNOWN; some |
came as legitimate freight. but many |
We're ''StoWaWays." Some entered |
from border lands upon the wings of the |
wind, on river bosomS, in the Stomachs |
of migrating birds, clinging TO the hairs
OF passing animals, and a hundred
other WAYS besides by man himself
Into the New England soil and that |
south along the Atlantic seaboard the |
weed seeds first took root. Also the |
native plants. with strong weedy |
nature, developed into pests of the |
farm and garden. Many of the native |
weeds are shy and harmless in COM |
parisOn with the persistent and pug |
naciOus ones that have like vagab0nds |
emlgTated to our shores. Why should |
1t be that plants Of another country not |
only find their way here, but after ar
irving assert themselves with a yigor |
far surprising our native herJS? The |
European weeds had through long ages
adapted themselves to the change from
forest to cleared land, and were, there
fore, prepared TO flourish here in the |
rich forest soil that was suddenly eX-
posed to the sun and subjected to other
new conditions by the telling of the
trees. 10 30 back of this we are not |
sure that the ancestors of some of our |
European weeds ever came from the |
forests. but instead were brought into
the cleared up lands from open re- |
gl0ns IN the early days of agricult. |
ure in the Old World AS civ |
DiZed man moved westward, the |
weeds followed him, reinforced |
by new native ones that soon
We'd with those Of foreign blood. Not |
satisfied with this, these natives of the |
interior ran back upon the trail and be-
came new enemies to the older parts of |
our land. The conditions favorable for
the spreading of weeds have increased
with tie development of our country, |
until now we are literally oYerrun, |
Weeds, usually as seeds. 20 and come
in all directions, no less as tramps catch |
ing a ride upon each passing freight |
train than i'll cherished bouquets gath !
eIed between stations and tendery |
cared for by tranScOntinental tourists in |
parlor cars.
Tne War a AgaInst Weeds.
The fact is patent that weeds are
everywhere, and the best means need |
to be taken to resist their greater prey |
alence. In this warfare against them |
there is no weapon equal to a thorough |
knowledge OF the enemv-that is. an !
understanding of the nature of these |
pests. their appearance in all stages of !
growth, methods of propagation and |
dissemination of the seeds. This knOwl- !
edge is much more highly appreciated |
III Europe than here. In Germany, for |
example, they have wall maps upon |
which the leading weeds are renresent- |
ed. Hung, as these are, upon the |
schOOlroOm walls. child. simply from |
daily seeing these lifelike colOred draw |
lngS of the various pests, will learn |
their appearance and names. Some |
such method of instruction is needed |
Ill this country. by which the children |
who are soon TO be our farmers and gar
denerS may become familiar with the |
troublesome weeds even in the advance
OF their advent. that the proper means |
may be taken at once for meeting and
destroying them. Editors of agricul- !
tural papers and professors in agricul-
tural colleges yearly receive manv let
terS asking for the simplest kind of in
formation concerning many common
weeds, thus showing the general lack |
OF knowledge upon this important sub
Ject. To put a map of dozen of the
most destructive weeds upon the walls
OF every country school house in the
United States is a great undertaking;
but II it were done the next and succeed
ing generations of farmers would be the
better able TO carry on the work of eX-
termination