"There are a certain number of plants which we always looked upon as weeds, such as burdock and wild carrot, for example. But if a beautiful garden plant should persist in living and spreading itself over our vegetable garden, then that, too, would become a weed. Over across the sea in England the poppy grows wild in the fields. It looks very beautiful to the traveler, because it makes lovely red splashes of colour through the field. But I doubt very much if it looks really attractive to the farmer. These things depend largely, do they not, upon one's point of view?
"Even a question like weeds we have no right to look at from one point of view only. The good points of weeds do not balance up the bad points; but it is well to give even weeds their due. Rid the world of weeds and unless these despoiled spots were cultivated, think of the great waste places there would be over the earth's surface. The weeds shade the ground thus preventing too great surface evaporation. Then the weeds are a signal to farmers and all gardeners to get busy. We people of the world are lazy, just naturally so, and perhaps if there were no weeds we might cultivate the soil too little. Years ago certain weeds were much used in medicine. This is more or less true, to-day. The dandelion with its bitter secretion was good, it was believed, for the liver, a sort of spring tonic. The Department of Agriculture has printed a pamphlet on 'Weeds Used in Medicine' (Farmers' Bulletin, No. 188). Jack and Jay each sent for a copy last spring. You all might start a garden library with these pamphlets for a basis. They are sent to you free and are invaluable in your work. Get together all the helps you can on the subject you are studying. Boys and girls receive free so much in the present day that it seems a shame not to make use of these things. The boys have written to the Department of Agriculture and each month it sends to the club a list of the publications sent out or reprinted during the previous month. You girls might follow this good example set you by the boys.
"Well, we have wandered a bit from the subject in hand. Weeds are again discouraging because they have such facilities for travel. Talk about flying machines—weeds are centuries ahead of men along these lines. Look at a milkweed seed; it is a complete flying apparatus. With its perfect ballast it flies beautifully along over field and river ready to alight in proper seed style, end down.
"There is a piece of mechanism in the end of each burdock seed that seems to make travel possible, and dissemination sure. Never was fish hook more cleverly made than this hook of the bur seed. It catches on to your clothing and travels until you feel its pull. Then you pick it off and cast it aside. So it goes. It sticks to the furry and hairy coats of animals and again is carried along.
"Did you ever observe the seed of wild carrot? It, too, is arranged with clinging points all around and about its seed. If you should give just a little attention to the subject of the means of distribution of wild seeds you would have a greater respect for the ways and means of Nature.
"Here is another discouraging side to the weed question. Weeds produce so many, many seeds! Look at a single stalk of plantain. This stalk does not stand for one seed capsule, but all up and down the stalk are the seeds; again, not one seed here and one there, but each capsule or seed case holding many seeds. When these become ripe, then the top of the capsule comes off just like the cover of a box, or the top of a salt cellar, and the seeds are sent out. It would not be a useless thing to count sometimes the number of seeds on one plantain stalk, and thus gain an idea of the tremendous possibilities of increase which the weeds have.
"A lad I once knew counted the number of seeds in a milkweed pod which he had, and found very nearly two hundred. I do not remember the exact number. It was between one hundred and ninety-five and two hundred. Think of one pod scattering that number of seeds! Think again of the number of pods on one milkweed plant! It is staggering, is it not? To be sure we can remember the parable of the sower and have some hope, for some seed may fall on soil in which they will never come to maturity.
"Weeds, like the wild morning glory, form new plants not from their seed only, but from their travelling, trailing branches.
"If, then, the chances are so good for renewal of weeds, what is the plan of campaign which we should follow? Once a German gentleman who loved and cultivated roses was asked how to get rid of rose bugs. 'Kill them,' he said. 'Pick them off by hand and kill them by foot is the sure method!' he continued.
"So, to get rid of weeds, just destroy them. Persistently and constantly weed them out and cultivate the soil. Clean cultivation is the only sort for good crops and freedom from weeds.