The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1872-09-27
How to XIII Weeds.

by attending the following dlrec-
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. --
8. Should you, for the first year or
two, see little benefit from your la
Dor, do not relax your efforts. You
viii certainly triumph in the end.
This is the experience of all garden
ers and q firm conviction of this
truth is one of the strongest incen-
tives to perseverance.
4. Be forehanded with your work.
This is exceedingly important. It
is so not merely because weed plants
can be killed easily just as they be-
gin to grow, but it often happens
that many weeds actually go to seed
before they get large enough to at
tract attention. Chickweed (ste7Ia-
rja) is quite a pest in many gardens.
!
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 autumn. The plant Will flower in
the snow, and tens of thousands Of
SEEDS were matured before the
ground was cultivated in the spring.
The garden was forked over and
hoed repeatedly during the summer,
and every weed raked off (after they
had gone to seed, but during the
wet weather, thousands of little
plants would spring up, but were
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 it was impossible to get rid of
chickweed. And SO it is with many
other weeds. We could get rid OF
them if our labor was directed by q
little correct knowledge Of the habits
of the plants, and was applied at the
right time. Many think it impossi-
bic to free the land of couch or quick
grass (tT'lticunl Tepe1lS,) and their ex-
perience seems to them to Justify
the opinion. But it will be found
that they are not forehanded in their
work. They apply labor enough,
but it is too late. They let the plants
4 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 possible But they cannot get
out the whole. The roots are broken
into small pieces, and each piece
produces q new plant, which soon
pushes out its roots in all directions
in the loose and mellow soil. Had
the work been commenced before
the couch plants pushed out their
leaves, and been kept up SO vigor-
ously and continuously that the
young shoots could not get to the
surface, and the soil constantly cul-
tivated duriDg the hot dry summer
months, every couch plant would be
destroyed. We have tried the plan
and know that couch can be effectu-
ally got rid of in this way. But nc
half way measure will succeed
with it.
5. Burn all the thistle heads and
other weeds that are cleaned out oil
the garden. Many seem to think
the best place to put these weeds is
in the roads. The man that does il
should be indicted for a nuisance
He forgets that these weed seeds will
stick to the feet of horses and other
animals. Another plan is to feed
these seeds to the fowls. Ali that
are not digesied will grow. If there
is so much grain among 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
tainIy be full of weed seeds. Fer.
G:onting the manure will not Kill
these seeks unless the seeds them
selves are decomposed, which is sell
dom the case. The better plan is tc
pile the manure, turn it, and get il
thoroughly rotted, and then apply
as top dlessing.-London Farmer.