Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1870-07-15
Agrmultural.
DESTROY the Needs.

States, in DISCRIMINATING weeds, whose
seeds were sown with the grass seeds
Hence. in preparing lands for laying them
down TO grass, no operations in the work
is so essential rs that of securing snch
seeds as il is desired to SOW. and those
ORlq
There is only one way of securing this.
by cultivators, and that is by owning and
using, in each neighbOrhood OF farmers,
a good separator. which will separate ten
bushels of seed in an hour, aud divide
them into dozen different boxes. If there
are as many kinds of seeds. Such -
separator may be found at the agricullur-
nj warehouses, and would be cheap in any
of our farming towns at almost any piicc.
Our fields are now white with the bios
SONS OF the or-eye daisies; they cover
thousands OF acres. and in many instances
almost 10 the entire exclusion of the
grasses. Ii has become great nuisance
and source of loss TO the farmer. Cattle
may taste il occasionally, but only taste
il. and refuse it a winter feed, when 1t Is
hard, bitter plant. IL propagates itself
with great rapidity, appearing first in
stools, and throwing up = cluster of stems
some two feet high, but soon extends IT
self all over the ground. and throwing up
single stems in every direction. II takes
the place of the grasses, and i an ex-
penSiye nuisance.
Another. and one scarcely less annoy
ing and expensive, is feld sOrrci. Well
it is designated rs Natures grave clothes.
II probably covers thousands OF acics
of sandy loan lands in Massachusetts ut
this moment. Blu, it is not confined 10
such lands; il finds It's way into heavy
clays, clay loans, and into every soil that
is cultivated. Ii has creeping roots, which
peIyade the soil in every direction. and
any portion of them left behind will soon
throw up "a new plant
Then We have the sour dock. carlcd
dock, ndrrolc and broad-lsGred dock. all
unsightly and troublesome weeds. They
have long and stout roots, which require
the strength of a strong man to pull them
up. Cutting them Oft two or three times
in the course OF the summer seems only
10 encourage them.
Still another is the chickory or Succory
plant, one of the most persistent and OBJ
slinate growers in the vegetable world
We have cut of the same plant with u
spade an inchOr two below the uIfacc ten
different times in summer. and still i,
flourished beyond al other plants Of the
held lis stem rises from two TO -four
feet. The flowers are bright blue, and
quite snowy.
1, was foreigner, but is becoming eX-
tenSively naturalizeh. Ii has 4 large and
long tap root, which goes 10 make up 4
considerable portion of what is sold for
coffee in the shops Lett TO its own pow
erS of propagation. we think it would
cover fifty acre farm i'm a few years
Then we have the butiercUP or crowfoot,
with It's lair name and face. These are
all there i 20 commend il, II is highly
arrid plant; cattle DO not eat il in the
pastures; it is hardy, and soon drives on,
the grasses.
There are many other weeds that are
costly nuiSanceS 10 the farmer
What are VIC to do about IT, Who in.
troduced them? Did any OF their seed
come 10 use by = COO. money-makci's
design. or were they accidentally brought
tous? Let Us see.
Some years ago the members of the
ROYAL Agricultural Society Of England
offered prize Tor the best essay on
"Agrict}tNrai Wetds" He says the fol-
lowing extract from the LETTER oil French
dealer in London. addressed to the well
known seed establishment of the McSsrs.
Sutton, of Reading, England. will show
how Systematically this fraudulent trade
is carried ON:
Il have sold this day some India rape
seed Tor Duriag with turnip seed, and
enclose sample II YOU will have some
at JjS. per quarter. in the docks. YOU can
have il, If unsOld. Ia yOW answer. have
some East India radi>h seed nj 9s per
bushel. IL YOU want some Tor mixing.
shall be very happy 10 serve YOU"
4 man guilty OF such frauds rs these
deserves 10 be shot with some of his vile
mixtures.
There are two ways 20 prevent sowing
the seed ourselves. One of these we have
already suggested. The other is, that no
dealer in seed should sell any until he has
had them thoroughly examined by u
competent person. and separated. if there
is mixture. No sensible person would
decline paying the additional cost OF such
cleansing.
The duty before us now is. to allow no
weeds ~ 60 to seed in our fields. When
they arc moving fields, cut all before the
seeds are ripened in the weeds and
where they are in the cultivated crops,
sec that none ripen. Weeds multiply
themselves surprisingly. A stem of wheat
may have twenty-five oreven fifty kernels
npon it; but some of the weeds we have
mentioned would be more likely to have
some thousands OF seeds than only fifty!
On this point we will remark further
hereafter. New England Farmer.