The Hickman courier., 1872-09-21
How to Kill Weeds.

By attending the following direc-
tions, weeds may be completely ex-
tirpated:
1. Study their habits. Without
this, you are working in the dark.
You are shooting without taking
aim, and are more likely to miss
than to hit.
2. Have faith that weeds can be
killed.
3. Should you, for the first year or
two, see little benefit from your la
Dor, do not relax your efforts. You
will certainly triumph IN the end.
This is the experience of all garden
ers and firm conviction of this
truth is one of the strongest incen-
tives to perseverance.
4. Be forehanded with your work.
This is exceedingly important. 1t
is so not merely because weed plants
can be killed easily just as they be-
gin to grow, bnt it often happens
that many weeds actually so to seed
before they get large enough to at
tract attention. Chickweed (steila-
ria) is quite a pest in many gardens
We have known much labor and time
spent, year after year, in efforts to
keep this little plant in check, but
all IN vain, because the work was
not commenced early enough in the
spring and continued late enough in
the autum. The plant viii flower in
! the snow, and tens of thousands Of
seeds were matured before the
/ ground was cultivated in the spring.
The garden was forlled over and
hoed repeatedly during the summer,
and every weed raked of (after they
had gone to seed but during the
wet weather, thousands of little
plants would spring mp, but We're
not thought to be injurious, and
were suffered to remain to grow all
winter and seed the land again early
in the spring. The gardener de-
| clared 1t Was Impossible to get rid of
! chicllweed. And SO it Is with many
other weeds. We could get rid OF
! them ii our labor was directed by a
little correct knowledge of the habits
of the plants, and was applied at the
right time. Many think it impossi-
ble to free the land Of couch or quick
grass (trjtictDl repeHS,) and their ex.
/ perience seems to them to Justify
the opinion. But it viii be found
/ that they are not forehanded in their
work. They apply labor enough,
but it is too late. They let the plants
grow until the ground is covered
With the leaves of the couch, and
then they hoe and rake and cultivate,
and may be fork out as many roots
as Possib O. But they cannot get
out the whole The roots are broken
into small pieces, and each piece
produces new plant, which soon
| pushes out its roots III all directions
in the loose and mellow soil Had
the work been commenced before
the couch plants pushed ont their
leaves, and been kept up SO vigor-
on ly and continuously that the
| young shoots could not get to The
| surface, and the soil constantly cul-
tiyated dutieg the hot dry summer
months, every couch plant would be
destroyed. We have tried the plan,
and know that couch can be efiectu-
ally got rid OF in this way. But no
half way measure Will succeed
1 with it.
5. Burn all the thistle heads and
/ other weeds that are cleaned out Of
/ the garden. Many seem to think
the best place to put these weeds is
III the roads. The man that does it
should be indicted for a nuisance.
He forgets that these weed seeds viii
stick to the feet Of horses and other
animals. Another plan is to feed
these seeds to the fowls Ali that
are lot digested viii grow. 1t there
Is so much grain amoug the weed
seeds that you do not like to burn
them, boil before feeding.
6. Look to the manure. This Is a
fruitful source OF weeds II the
crops are foul, the manure Will Ger
tainly be full of weed S, eds. Fer
E:enting the manure viii not kill
these seeks unless The seeds them-
selves are decomposed, which is sell
dom the case. The better plan Is to
pile the manure, turn it, and get II
thoroughly rotted, and then apply
as a top d. essing London Farmer.