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'774 Figuring against Weeds.

he succeeded quite as well as some college juniors I have seen.

And when,in afteryears,the time came for him to take up the
studyof botanymore systematically, the objectsof his studywere
to him not dim and unrealphantoms,but familiarfriends.
To be continued.

FIGURING AGAINST WEEDS.

BY BYRON D. HALSTEAD.

THE weeds are amongthe worstenemiesof the farmer. They

cause a loss of manymillions of dollars annuallyto the State
*ofIowa. This is not only in the diminutionof cropsbut no small
share of the outgo is in labor in orderto preventan entireloss of
the crop.
Some persons,who as yet have securedno world-widereputation
forkeen commonsense,are inclinedto look withmuch favorupon
weeds. To theirvisionarymindstheyare simplya properstimulus
for the profitabletillage of the soil, and thereforemay be
(considered as the friendinstead of the enemyof the progressive
farmer. If it were not forthe weeds,whichspring up and choke
the neglectedcrop,therewould not be sufficient incentiveto good
husbandry. Good and poor farming would be more equally
rewarded. The man who hoes and the one who leaves his corn
fieldforthe shade and game along the woodedstreamwould stand
.a commonchance.ofplenty at the harvest time. In short,weeds
are the appointedmeansof puttinga premiumupon farmindustry
and furnishone reasonwhy it does notpay to be shiftless.
This is turningthe curseintoa blessing,and if every one would
practicallymake this turn there would need to be but littlemore
said.
Weeds are a good deal like the sun and the rain in relationto
.thejust and the unjust,withperhaps this variation,thatthe weeds
seed abundantlyon theneglectedland of a shiftlessfarmerand these
same seeds findtheirbestplaces for growthin the clean rich fields
of the carefulhusbandman.
 Figuring against Weeds. 775

But all this aside; it is truethatthe State of Iowa has already

moreweeds than she wants for the purpose of premiums. Her
good farmersget enough encouragement for beinggood without
having theirless prosperousneighborsloaded down witha heavy
weightof thievingweeds. I forone would be willingto risk the
qualityof Iowa agricultureif everyvile weed within our borders
was rootedout and all theirseeds burnedto smokeand ashes.
The conditionswhich surroundour prairie farming,fosterthe
growthof weeds. Land has been verycheap and at the same time
veryrich. The firstfacthas encourageda spiritof carelessnesson
the part of the farmerand the second has permittedthe rapid
multiplication of rank weeds. As a result our State is becoming
almostoverrunwithplant-pestsof boththe fieldand thegarden.
The timehas comewhenan earneststudymust be made of the
weeds which rob our land, already losing much of its virgin
-fertility.We mustcome to the rescuewhiletheenemyis compara-
tivelyweak. Education is moreeffectivethan legislation. It is
not difficult,perhaps,to pass a law against cockle-bur,beggar's
lice, Canada thistle,etc.,as has been done in manyStates,but an
act of thelegislaturedoes littlegood untilthereis a keen apprecia-
tion of the importanceof clean fieldsand road sides,alreadyin
the mindsof the farmers.
With a view tobecomingbetteracquainted with the weedsand
uselessplantsof the State,a list has beenpreparedwhichembraces:
(1) all the worstweeds,(2) the bad weeds,and (3) the indifferent
weeds. The firstclass includes fifty-one (51). In the second
group are ninety-four (94) kinds; and among the indifferent sorts
are one hundredand fifty-two (152) species. This gives a totalof
twohundredand ninety-seven (297) distinctkinds of plantsof no
greatusefulnessto the farmersof the State, half of thesea positive
disadvantageand over halfa hundredbeingpestsof the worstsort.
* When thusarrangedthe enemymakesa long and bold front.
If we look at theseenemiesin-thelightof theirtermof life-as
the horsemanwould say,look in themouth,it is foundthateighty-
four(84) are annuals; twenty-seven (27) are able to live two years
at the most,while one hundredand eighty-six(186) are perennial,
thatis, thriveforan indefinite termof years. These figurescan be
readilythrownintoa tabulatedform suitable for the blackboard,
-thus:-
776 Figuring against Weeds.
Annuals. Biennials. Perennials. Total.
Worst weeds.........*.28 6 17 61
Bad weeds. 34 12 48 94
Indifferentweeds. 22 9 121 152

Totals..................... 84 27 186 297

If we look up the pedigree of these pestsit will be foundthat
theyare dividedintoeighty-seven (87) foreigners,
whichhave come
fromabroad to infestAmerican soil. The large balance of two
hundredand ten (210) are nativesand are weedsin theirwild state
or have made inroadsupon cultivatedland. Of the 87 foreigners,>
forty-four are annuals,thatis, runningthroughtheirwhole lifein
a singleseason,twelve (12) are biennials,and thirty-one(31) are
perennials. Twenty-eightof the eighty-fourare in the worst
class,thirty-sevenin the bad group,and twenty-twobelongto the
indifferent order. A table of the importedspecies may be con-
structedas follows:-
Worst. Bad. Indifferent. Total.
Annuals .18 19 7 44
Biennials .3 6 3 12
Perennials.7 12 12 31

Totals......................... 28 37 22 87
Taking up the 210 native species in the same way,the table.
standsas follows
Worst. Bad. Indifferent. Total.
Annuals .10 16 14 40
Biennials.3 6 6 15
Perennials.10 35 110 155

Totals........................ 23 57 130 210

From thesetables it will be seen thatof the worst class-which
of course most interestsus, there are twenty-eight foreignersto,
twenty-three nativespecies. It is no comfortto know that more
than half of our mostaggressiveweedshave come,or been brought,
-tous fromsome othercountry. If thereis any satisfaction in the
it
thought, may be here stated 'that some inoffensiveAmerican
plantshave gone abroad and became dreadfulpests in their new
surrounding. In thisway we compensatein partforthe additions
made to our list of weedsfromEuropeanand otherlands.
 Figuring against Weeds. 777

Beginning with the foreignannuals the leading worst kinds

given in the orderof arrangement in Gray's Botany,are: charlock
or yellowmustard,shepherd'spurse,corncockle,pnrslane,abutelon
or velvet leaf,sun-flower, mayweed,Jamestownor jimson-weed,
two species,goose-footor lamb's quarters; pig-weed,tumble-weed,
chess and threekinds of fox-tailgrass or "' puss-tail."
The threeforeignbiennialsare the commoncarrot,parsnipand
the hound's-tongue. Two of these are closelyrelated and have
-escapedfromthe vegetable garden where theyare veryimportant
rootcrops. The carrotand parsniparenotas bad weeds in Iowa as
theyhave becomein manypartsof the East wherethey coverthe
pasturesand meadowswith uselessherbage.
Of foreignperennialsthe leading worstsorts are Canada thistle,
dandelion,rib-grass or narrow-leavedplantain,butter and eggs,
toad-flaxor ramsteadweed,curled-dockand sorrel.
Comingnow to the native weeds of this most injuriousclass we
findamong the annuals the following: Daisy fleabane,greatrag-
weed,Roman rag-weed,cockle-buror clot-bur,beggar'sticks,horse
nettle,beaked horsenettle,prostratepig-weed,knot-grassand bur-
grass. It will be seen at a glance thatthis is a formidablearrayof
bad enemies.
The biennials are the evening primrose,a kind of fleabane or
horse-weed,and theviper's buglossor sometimescalled blue devils.
This makesa strongthree-horse team.
Of the nativeperennialsmay be mentionedthe callirrhoei,two
kinds of iron-weed,threesortsof thistles,namely: the ball thistle,
common thistle and pasture thistle, the bractedbind-weedand
quack or quick-grass.
By turningthe figuresof the tables to furtherservice,it may be
shown that there are nearly twice as many foreignweeds of the
worstsortas of the natives. Twenty-eight out of the fifty-one
live
foronlya singleyear. Six only are biennials and seventeenare
perennials. This we should not expect because other things
remainingthe same a perennialis a worse weed than an annual.
But otherthingsdo not remain the same. The annual is usually
characterizedby greatcapacityforformingseed,and this advances
many of the annuals to the firstrank among plant pests. For
example, the common pairslanewill maturea million seeds in a
778 Figuring against Weeds.

single season or enough to thoroughlystocka countrywith this

pest. A studentmade a carefulestimateof the seeding capacity
of a singleplant of thesmall veronica,called niclacespeedwell,and
foundthatthe numberof seeds was 186,292. These figureshelp
to forcehome the thoughtthat weeds, and especially thesesorts
whichare dependentupon seeds fortheir continuation, are exceed-
and also the importanceof keepingsuch pests from
ingly prolific,
maturingtheiroffspring.
When asked to selectthe mostoffensive amongthe worst weeds
thetask becomesan exceedinglydifficult one. Amongthe annuals,
especiallyin gardens,the purslaneor " pusley" perhaps takes the
lead. In strikingcontrastwiththeprostratepurslaneis the shrub-
like Jamestownweedorstramoniums, sometimes called jimsonweed.
The rank herbageand heavy orderof thesecoarseweeds,as well as
their larger size, make then conspicuousand disagreeable. The
pig-weedsand the closely related tumble-weedare commoncoarse
intrudersintothe tilled ground.
Of the biennial the mostto be dreaded are the carrot and the
fleabane,both of which,in their own widelydifferent way, can do
much to renderthe life of the farmervexatious.
The worst foreignperennial,at least the one with the most
meannessin its make up, is theCanadathistle. At presentit is but
littleknownin manypartsof the State; but it spreadsrapidly by
meansof its airy floatswhichbearthe lightseed forlong distances,
and when once establishedin the soil it holds its place withan
almostundyinggrip. The long perennialroots strikeIowa deep
intothe soil while the pricklyherbagedefiestheattacksof foraging
animals. The curled-leafdock also takes a firmhold and is eradi-
cated onlyby being dug up by the roots and hung in the sun or
burned. Of the nativeperennialsthereare various sorts of coarse
thistlesand the celebratedquack or quick-grass. This last is a
remarkableinstanceofpropagationby undergrown stems. Plowing
and harrowingonly aids in the spread of this pest. Each piece of
wirystemwhengiven any sortof a chancewill growand develop
the weed.
As a rule the weedsof all classesshould never be permittedto
mature their seed. With annuals this is a quick and effective
meansof eradication. The biennials will perishat the end of the
 The CentralPhilippines. 779'

secondyear. Perennialsmay live on for several years but if they

are not allowed to develop much herbage and no flowersthe old
plantswillgraduallydie of starvationand,beingwithoutheirs,they-
will leave the land to revertto itsrightfulowners.
Propertillagewill keep the weedswithinsafeboundsin theopen
fieldsof hoed crops. By propertillageis understoodthat culture
whichthe crop demands even when no weeds encumberthe soil.
The hot-bedforweedsis the neglectedcornerswherethe cultivator
and hoe do not naturallygo. It is in such places,along road-sides,
barn-yards, open wood lots and fencecornersthatweeds sneak in
and bear theiryoung. It will be difficultto keep the cultivated
fieldclean whenall aroundis breedinggroundforfoul seeds..
Rome was not built in a' day and neither will our weeds be
destroyedin a generation. It is only hoped that,as all roads lead
to Rome, so may all the inward desires and open acts of every-
producerofcropstendtowardthe destruction ofour worstweeds.

THE CENTRAL PHILIPPINES.

BY J. B. STEERE.

(Concluded from page 626.)

AFTER muchenquiryfora suitableplace to collectin,we heard.

Of virginforestin the northpart of the island of Panay, and
findinga littlesteamerrunningup the coast we took passage to the
village of Concepcion,some twentymiles northof lo Ilo, and
nearlyin frontof the curiousconical island called Pau de Assucar..
Woods werein sight,but we foundthattheyweresteepand rocky,
and difficultto hunt in, and ratherunproductiveof formsnew to
our collections,mostof the birdsbeing identicalwiththosealready
procuredin Guimaras. The foresthad a curioushalf-deadappear--
ance, whichwas due in part to mostof the leaves having already,.
in January,fallen,preparatory to the comingspring,and in partto
much of the timber having beeia injured by large gashes in the
trunks to collect the gums fromthem. Beforewe leftthe place
some of the treeswerealreadyshowing the purpleand brightyel--