The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1825-06-29
arrtculturat.
From the New-England Farmer.
HHITE NEED.

Mr. Fessendeu.-As you love to talk
about every thing in The season of it
do for the lands sake and ours, tell as
chat zoe shall do 10 get rid Of the 7Uhite
a0eed ?-lf you will just ride or walk
INTO the country, ABOUT Boston, now,
you will find our moving grounds COW
cred and made white with it. Perhaps
there never was so much at this sea-
SOMA more pernicious plant, as re-
CARDS our grass crops, cannot be found,
| believe, unless it be the Canada this
tie, and thai happily is not much known
TO US i'll this neig hbourhood. The white
weed makes most miserable food for
catle.-good for nothing if allowed to
stand ill it is ripe.--Our stable keep
ers reject ii. and if they did not, their
horses Would.--lt Is so extremely self
ish in its habits, that it will permit moth
ing 10 grow near tilt occupies the
whole ground or none. The mode OF
increase | know not. Still less do
know how to effect ITS decrease. But
This know, that it is spreading indef-
ntely in all directions. 1t is said TO
have been brought here by our ances-
tors. So we are told was the berber-
ry, or barberry Without meaning to
abuse those good folks, wish they had
left them both at home.-The seed OF
the Charlock, or wild turnip, it has
been said, will remain in the clod 80
years or more and not send up plant,
while the land remains in grass, but
comes up after the land is ploughed.
Not so the white weed The seed of
this will remain idle in the clod for
years for ought | know,-but giving no
trouble, like the wild turnip, while un-
der the plough, but il takes possession
of the soil the moment it is laid down TO
grass. This makes it the worse plant
of the two, both of them worthless, be-
cause if it would show its head where
we are hoeing, instead of sneaking a
mong the grass, we should probably
hold tussle with it. How to eradicate
il is now the question--and am asham-
ed to say that can afford you no aid on
which to rely at all Some have said
ploughing will do it. wish in my
heart it would. But if so, how is it that
it comes again, frequently, the first year
after laying down to grass--as may be
seen this season? Was the seed put
there in the manure that was pIoughed
in ?--this is possible, but if it be so how
does it help the matter? the seed we
are likely to have always with us.--It
has wings, too, believe, and who can
stop it /? Some think it may be rooted
out and destroyed by manuring the
grass land very highly. This may elic-
it grasses so rank and strong, as TO take
place of il in some degree; but, that
manure kills rhite coed / do not believe
BY keeping all our land under the
plough, we might get clear of it: bu,
this we cannot do, you know, any more
than we could undertake to pull it all
up by the roots and burn il, before il is
ripe. So abundant has il become, that
in this latter process we should starve.
am really mortified, sir, as common
practical farmer, TO discover so much
ignorance on this subject, and to show
myself SO poorly armed against formi-
dable enemy constantly beating up my
quarters; but it is as well TO confess it al
once and call upon Hercules. should
really like to know what you learned
folks have to say.
1t is not worth while to print this lei
ter. You can talk of this rsscaily plant
without doing that. But perhaps yon
will like it--who knows? Ifyou should,
may touch up something else one of
these days when it rains; but as ]