The War on Weeds in the Prairie West: An Environmental History / Edition 1

by Clinton L. Evans

Overview

Despite the fact that fighting weeds was of paramount importance to the agricultural development of Canada, there has scarcely been any research on understanding the origins and history of these lowly plants. Finally, historian Clint Evans gives weeds the attention they deserve.

In this ground-breaking study, which spans four centuries of weed history, Evans focusses on the evolution of the relationship between people and weeds in the formative years of western Canada. This book documents the arrival of weeds with seed from England in the sixteenth century, how these foreign seeds survived and thrived on the plains of North America for centuries to come, and governmental perceptions and legislations against weeds.

Highlighting topics such as weed biology and ecology, noxious weed legislation and “weed science,” Evans considers the delicate connections between human culture and the natural world. Energetic and accessible, The War on Weeds in the Prairie West is the first full-blown environmental history of weeds in western Canada.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781552380291
Publisher:	University of Calgary Press
Publication date:	01/30/2002
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	326
Product dimensions:	0.24(w) x 0.35(h) x 0.75(d)

About the Author

Clint L. Evans, a self-employed historical consultant, traces his interest in weeds back twenty years to his days as an agriculture student. He worked in the weed control industry, explored for minerals in northern British Columbia, and taught at Okanagan University College in Kelowna.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This is a significant piece of work…. It taps a wealth of data and information which has not previously been given much attention.” -- R. Bruce Shepard, Diefenbaker Canada Centre, University of Saskatchewan

“The work…takes up a much neglected theme, follows it with skill across the sweep of Canada, and places it in a larger context of geography and ideas. No one else has written so comprehensive a study of the weed in North America.” -- Donald Worster, University of Kansas

Editorial Reviews

Bound to stimulate interest and reaction . . . for those with an interest in agriculture, or in the socioeconomic, political, and environmental dimensions so tightly linked with the transformation of North America’s grasslands to cropland, this book is well worth it’s price of a few bushels of wheat.

—Ian Morrison, Great Plains Research

Evans successfully webs together a mass of scientific, historical, and ecological information . . . a book that has the merit of finally taking into account actors that Canadian agricultural history has so far silenced.

—Stéphane Castonguay, The Canadian Historical Review

From the Publisher

A historical consultant and former agriculture student who battles weeds in his British Columbia lawn studies the war against weeds that influenced western Canada's development from 1800 to 1950. Introductory chapters discuss what defines a weed, and the relationship between weeds and British husbandry from 1500-1900. Includes color and b&w illustrations of such nemeses as wild mustard, Canada thistle, and bindweed. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)