The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-03-01
Science of " eeds.

Vast sums of money and an army of
men are being employed by the govern
men to locate, understand and put to
their proper uses the weeds of the coun-
try, says Theodore Dresser In Ainsleess.
From every town and hamlet and coun-
try wayside this great government gath
ers reports concerning these vegetable
outlaws. The impudent dock that sur
reptitiously slips his seed into the coat
of a passer-by In Nebraska is recorded
In the annals of the agricultural depart
ment, and the line of the docks prog
ress IL marked on the maps which show
the areas of distribution in the United
States. II is now known what and where
the weeds are, and a constant surveillance
Is kept over them. Those that threaten
To become pests are headed of by all
the forces of the government. Ii is fact
that an order to kill some lone specimen
of pernicious Canada thistle has been
sent by telegraph from Washington.
There is however little need of en-
couraging the destruction OF weeds The
thing important now is 10 utilize what
have been found indispensable. There
are weeds that are soil reviewers, weeds
that are food for man and beast and
weeds without which thousands OF acres
of our most fertile lands would be wastes
today. These weeds the government is
endeavoring to preserve. n Is surprising
In the light OF these discoveries 10 con-
slider mans attitude toward weeds in gen.
eral. That he should have sworn at
them, sought measures OF determination,
plowed them toilsomely under year after
year. and yet himself remained really
handicapped In the battle for subsistence
because he lacked the aid which one or
more of these would have readily given
him seems incongruous One kind II
properly used would have supplied de-
hcient soil with potash, another would
have brought II the needed lime a third
the nitrogen or phosphorus. taking II
out OF the atmosphere. and depositiug II
where his crops OF cereals and vegetab
would readily draw upon IL and wax
strong, In one he could have found
better food for his cattle than he ever
had before. in another a hardly worker
capable OF thriving with scarcely any
rain and yet making returns I'm food or
fertilizer far beyond the petty achieve
ments OF the most pampered and cult
vated of dome stick plants. The outlaws
of husbandry have for ages held the Sc
cret of binding the sands OF the sea so as
to fix the shore; OF digging deeper than
any plow and searching for the minerals
which make deficient lands arabic. and OF
drawing upon the atmosphere and taking
from II the valuable chemicals which no
farmer is rich enough TO buy in sufficient
quantities TO make his poor holding prof
liable. These bandits of the garden have
turned out for the most part To be saviors
and mans best friends, and so clear
have their distinguished merits become
that scientists are even apologizing for
the need of calling any the remaining
and as Vet little understood Vegetation
weeds. So we have all unused plants now
divided into poisonous and non poisonous
with the reservation that all may be and
probably are extremely useful II poison
Gus, the new attitude Is to find ont why
Where the poison comes from-out OF the
air or the earth? How is IL distilledg
What Is its nature? Whether II Is n
known or unknown poison? What it's ef-
feet may be on one and every object
particularly upon life and growth? These
and others are tho questions scientists
seek TO answer by investigating the
weeds