Spirit of the age. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1849-1865, 1858-02-17
AGRICULTURAL
On Broomsedge.

From the North Carolina Planter.

Society. on the subjected Broomsedge, w
"a familiar subject to North Carolina "
farmers,) in which the following ques- ca
tons are discussed an
1st. Son the best mode of eradicat- on
ing it." B.
I'd. els Broomsedge a fertilizer ch
The writer disposes of the first ca
proposition in a few words. He says,
as a perennial plant land they are
generally the most difficult to eradi- 4
cate, it is as easily eradicated as any \
one Of that class. For its successful !
eradication-the improvement of the if
land-to facilitate the cultivation-to :,
promote the growth of the crop which 7,
is Immediately to succeedit, the writer '
says the best plan is to pillow it under :
early in the fall, Yhilstit is in a green )
state-completely turning it over with :
a good turning plough. In that con-
dition it soon rots and becomes incor-
porated with the soil. But if not
completely reversed or turned over,
and its roots exposed to the irost and
sun, it will survive the winter and be
very much in the way of cultivation,
and will retard the growth of the crop,
or from the open" condition of the
soil, the crop will be late in starting
off" in the spring.
1kxse observations fully correspond
witt my experience, and doubtless
that Of many others who have taken
similar steps for eradicating Broom
sedge. 1t must be thoroughly plough
ed under and reversed, leaving the
roots exposed, or it will shoot up again
in the spring. But the most impor-
tant point discussed, is
SIS Broomsedge a fertilizer p
The writer of this Essay says, in a
strict sense it cannot be considered as
such. IquOte his own language. He
says:
at will not of itself, render an exhausted
soil fruitful. Il will not restore to the soil
all the elements of plants of which it has
been robbed; butthat it is exhausted natures
first attempt, or effort at restoration, and will
eventually produce fertility of soil, | think
there is no doubt. With many persons, |
find that poverty and s%terility Of soil seem to
be associated with the very idea of broom
scdge so inseparably come :ted in their
minds. do they seem to be, that they believe
it to be the cause and not the effect-as il
often is-of such s%terility, and would say
eradicate il, extermiuate it an idea which
the first proposition suggests, but science
comes to its rescue-nature herself cries gu
let it alone. 1t will grow and flourish wher
' no other plant will vegetate it will protec
: Your carcass of a field from the scorchinj
: rays of the summers sun it will presery'
: it from further teaching, and washing by tn
: rains. Science teaches US that by its dee
reaching roots, it draws and brings up salt
|, and minerals from the subsoil by its stem
$ and leaves it imbihes elements fr ON the a
a mosphere, which, when it is allowed to di
4 and rot where it has grown, will be conyerte
: into food for a higher order Of plants, sucl
! as briars, weeds, the pine, &c. Thus i'm
! provement progresses, and eventually restc
ration of soil will be established, and fertil
n ty produced not directly to be seen, bu
indirectly, by this, to many, very contempt
It BILE plant, bruomsedge.
l feel willing to rest the truth of the al
), frmative of this question, on the followin
. proposition, viz: All plants are more or lc
~ improvers, and cannot be exhausters of Il
DC soil il they are allowed to die and rot whe
a they have grown. No one it seems to n
upon refection-prejudice aside-will &
to tempt to controyert or dispute the truth
this proposition. Even man, who feeds up
l. the richest and most extravagant productio
nv of the earth. would have removed nothil
: from the soil, if when he died, his body we
nd left upon the surface of the earth, and the
y, allowed to rot Says Liebig. the enormo
to quantity of food which man consumes, duri
nm the sixty years of his life. and every const
uent Of it, that was derived from our fell
man ha fltAiupd and restored to them'
rr / have said that l find that many perso
IL entertain the belief, or opinion, that broo
sedge exhausts lands. One man, a very 90
ne practical farmer too-at least that sort Of
to one, who upon good land, with good seaso
would make good crops-said to me that
Of would rather have a crop of wheat to gr
on his land, as a crop of broomsedge.
"Ohi' said !, 81 think you must be n
taken.n "No Iain'f' said he. Any h
they say so" you ask any of our old fa1
Oou ers, and they will tell you that broumstr
his impoverishes land worse than a most aDyth
else"
ing Remember, this man was an anti-b
farmer, one of your real practical fellow;
he Now / make the assertion, and dare any
~. to prove to the cuntrary-by experience,
ence or anything else-that one crop of wi
al! will exhaust land more than fve-ye
'un- might safely say, ten crops of broomsedg
ont allowing both crops to be removed from
w." land after they are matnred.
49, Broomsedge produces so little seed
weight-that it takes from the soil very |
of these precious ingredients-the phospb
-of which wheat and all plants that proc
seed suitable for the food of man and b.
require SO large an amount of; and al
indispensable to the full developmentof
kernel, and which abound in all fertile $
do not design submitting any
marks of my own on the subjects
cussed above; but wish simply to
you to lay the matter before
readers, hoping it may elicit the
tention of North Carolina Farm
who, as a general thing, have as n
experience in the growth of Bro
sedge as any State in the Union
know we have generally rega1
Broomsedge old fields as mex
worthless, and with many the
that it was in any respect a fertil
was never once dreamed of.
from the above extracts, we may