Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1870-07-27
agricultural.
TINS Department Is conducted hy
Ion. J. w. ColBurn and Hon. John Gregory.
About Weeds.

enirc. Inc n0NH, however, Whlcn II ucslg-
mates as the or.eye, can not be the same as
the white daisy so common in Vermont for
some Of our farmers, although they would
rather not have it on their premises, regard
it as quite good fodder nearly as good as red
clover if cut early, and readily eaten by
both cattle and sheep We had always sup.
posed the large yellow blossom was the " OK
eye daisy"
The Farmer says:
One million Of dollars, large as the sum is,
would not probably pay for the labor annually
expended in the New England States, in ex-
terminating weeds, whose seeds were sown
with the grass seeds Hence, in preparing
lands for laying them down to grass no ope-
ration in the work is so essential as that of
and those oniv.
There is only one way Of securing this, by
cultivators, and that is by owning and using
in each neighborhood Of farmers, good sepa-
rator, which will separate ten bushels of seed
in an hour, aud divide them into dozen DIFF
ierent boxes, if there are as many kinds Of
seeds. Such a separator may be found at the
agricultural warehouses, and would be cheap
in any Of our farming towns at almost any
price.
Our fields are now white with the blossoms
Of the or-eye daisies they cover thousands
Of acres, and in many instances almost to the
entire exclusion Of the grasses. 1t has be-
come a great nuisance and source of loss to
the farmer Cattle may taste it occasionally,
but only taste it, and refuse it as winter
feed, when it is hard, bitter plant 1t prop.
agates itself with great rapidity, appearing
FIRST in stools, and throwing up cluster Of
stems some two feet high, but soon extends
itself all over the ground, and throwing up
single stems in every direction. 1t takes the
place Of the grasses, and is an expensive
nuisance
Another and one scarcely less annoying
and expensive, is field Sorrei. Well was It
designated as "Nature's grave clothes" 1t
probably covers thousands Of acres Of sandy
loan lands in Massachusetts at this moment
But it is not confined to such lands it finds
its way into heavy clays, clay loams and not
every soil that is cultivated. 1t has creeping
roots, which peryade the soil in every direc-
ton and any portion of them left behind will
soon throw up new plant.
Then we have the sour dock, curled dock,
Maroon and brOad-ledged 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
off two or three times in the course OF sum
mer seems only to encourage them
Still another is the chicory or Mccory
plant, one Of the most persistent and obstinate
growers in the vegetable world We have
cut off the same plant with spade an inch
or two below the surface, ten different times
in a summer and still it fourished beyond
all other plants of the field. Its stem rises
from two to forr feet. The flowers are
bright blue, and quite snowy.
1t was foreigner, but is becoming extern
sively naturalized. 1t has a large and long
tap root, which goes to make up consid-
able portion Of what is sold for coffee in the
shops. Left to its own powers of propaga-
ton, We think it would cover fifty acre
farm in few years.
Then we have the buitercHp or cro,efoot,
with its fair name and face These are all
there is to commend it. 1t is a highly acrd
plant cattle do not eat it in the pastures ;
it is hardy, and soon drives out the grasses.
There are many other weeds that are cost
ly nuisances to the farmer.
What are we to do about it? Who Intro
duced them? Did any of their seeds come to
us by cool, money-maker's design, or were
they accidentally brought to US Let us see.
Some years ago the members of the Royal
Agricultural Society, of England, offered a
prize for the best essay on Agricultural
Weeds" 1t was awarded to Professor Buck
man. He says the following extract from
the letter of French dealer in London ad-
dressed to the well-known seed establishment
Of the Mcssrs. Sutton, Of Reading Eng, will
show how Systematically this fraudulent trade
is carried on
" have sold this day some India rupe-seod for
miting with turnp seed, and enclose simpe-
III you will have some ut 56s per quarter, in the
docks, you can have it, ilunsold, TO your answer.
have some East India radish seed at 9s per
bushel. lfyou want some for mixing, | shall he
very happy to serve you
A man guilty Of such frauds as these de-
serves to be shot with some Of his vile mix
lures.
There are two ways TO prevent sowing the
seeds ourselves. One Of these we have al
ready suggested. The other is, that no dealer
in seeds should sell any until he has had them
thoroughly examined by competent person
and separated, if there is mixture. No
sensible person would decline paying the adj
ditional cost of such cleansing.
There is still another way besides the one
suggested by the Farmer to keep out the
weeds, and we saw practical illustration Of
this in recent visit to the farm where we
spent our boyhood days aud learned little
something of farming. There is not to-day,
or was not last week, a daisy, or scarcely any
other weed to be seen among the grass to be
mown for hay or in the pastures, whilst the
fields on the adjoining farms were as white as
the SHOWS Of mid-winter with daisy blossoms.
And we presume pound Of boughten grass
seed was never sowed upon this farm, it al
ways having been the practice to save the
seed for stocking down as much as for plant.
ing corn, which is sowed in the chat. This
may be considered little old fogy" farming
at the present day of specialties, but with a
little care otherwise it has resulted in securing
at all times clean grass and good quality OF
hay, even in the day when weeds do most
abound. Let farmers try the experiment
for while of saving their own grass seed from
their cleanest grass-cloyer and Timothy
and they will soon weed out, not only most Of
the noxious weeds complained of, but also the
Spectator in grass seeds, who is the biggest
and most expensive weed of them all.
New Discovery with Corn.
An intelligent and reliable neighbor of ours,
who has for many years been making expert.
ments with corn. has discovered an import