Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1859-04-21
Gbe 1armer.
Destruction Ct weeds.

AND PERENNIAL VEGETATION GENERALLY.
Your correspondent, d. D. Meeker, in
ouires on the above subject | never con-
tended with liye-forever beyond its presence
in nv garden Itsoems to me, however, hat
the question OF its destruction does not de-
maui, any specific experience Nearly the
same questions and answers are applicable to
elders, Canada Thistles, dock, burdock, &c.
|. | could detail numerous cases where
dock, Canada thistles and elders have been
destroyed by covering with boards, bark, &c.
No plant can grow without air and light
Covering very much excludes both.
/. Ploughing.-Canada thistles have been
destroyed in one summer, by six ploughings
in the months of June, July, and August.
This certainly is oxpensivc-yet in badly
infected field of good soil, and where agricul
tureis highly profitable, it may be better to
do so than to lose the use of the land en-
tigely.
2, Cutting-This may be done with the
hoe or scythe. Herbage kept down by being
constantly cut off must eventually die. In
case of the borders of field grown up to
elders, briars, golden rods &C.. the best way,
l think, is to cut them all off close in the
spring, and remove the stones, and also make
the surface even. The use of the scythe,
once in two or three weeks for one summer
will, with great certainty, and tolerable
cheapness destroy them. So, also, cutting
almost any vegetable off in the height of its
growth, say when in flower, will often utterly
destroy by one operation This result is es-
pecially made sure if, soon after the cutting,
rain should fall to fill the hollow stalks, and
be followed by hot sun. have myself thus
destroyed cases of Canada thistles by one
moving.
But if you wait till the plant is nearly
ripe, when of course the root has been
strengthened, you will fail. All persons who
have dug about elders, golden rods, briars,
&C., late in the season, must have observed
buds set just beneath the soil When this
is tho case cutting off the old plant does no
good. The energy concentrated about the
root will send up vigorous shoot the next
year. / have known elders, growing in the
grass of a door-yaid, spring up the second
spring, after having been faithfully cut off
during whole summer. But the growth
last noticed was very feeble, and was checked
by once more cutting them off,
|. CuIture-The worst piece of quack
[ ever saw, destroyed in one summer, by
cultivatlng hoed crop among it, Potatoes
have been recommended for this purpose, but
think unwisely, as they are injured by late
culture, such as would often be found need
full to finish the thistles. prefer corn bush.
beans and cabbage, with all of which have
been successful, and that without much cost
beyond ordinary culture. The procaution
should be taken to plant your hill in spot
made clear at the time-then you can hoe
them mere boldly 1t is further necessary
that you should hoe in dry, hot, weather.
Hence this plan fails in wet season. After
the first hoeing Of quacky crop, it is often
well to go over it lightly in the middle of d
not day, just skimming the surface of the
soil, and cutting off the young grass. have
seen, during the last summer a very quacky
field nearly clcaned.n the following manner
1t was twice ploughed (having been barley
the year before) and thoroughly narrowed in
dry weather. Then it was planted little
late with potatoes. These were subsequently
ploughed, and cultivated pretty frequently in
dry weather, except right about the hills;
the destruction was nearly perfect
5. The Use Of Salt.-This, to be ctfectual
in the case of "a large field must be applied
so literally as to destroy not only foul veg
citation, but the crop too; and hence you
cannot cultivate it. Your land, too, in son
cases, might be injured for the succeeding
year. This method is moreover costly. Yet
the limited use Of salt is often advisable, as
where some offensive plant is so situated as
not readily to be dug out. In this case if
it be cut off smoothly, handful of salt
laid upon it, its destruction may be ordinarily
insured.
6. The Culture Of Buchwheat.-The SOW
ing of successive crops of buckwheat, during
the same season, in foul land, is often one Of
the readiest modes of clearing it. In this
case the crop should be rolled down when in
flower, and another crop of the same be
sowed upon it. The foul vegetation will
spring up with The buckwheat, but will soon
be shaded and dwarfed by it. The succeed
ing ploughing will destroy it. Thus, as often
as you plough you destroy crop of weeds,
&c., also, while the result of the whole opera
tion is to deepen and mellow your soil, as
well as In some sense to enrich it--not GER
tainly by adding any mineral wealth to it,
but by altering its mechanical condition, and
filling it with vegetable matter. Under this
general idea of the use of buckwheat, may
relate that field near me was sovn with
corn in 1857, for soiIing. So ofcctualy was
foul vegetation destroyed by this culture,
that in renting the land myself this
year for potato culture I found the soil very
unusually clean.-C. E. Goodrich, Utica, IN
Country Gent.