Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1874-10-09
How to Eradicate Weeds.

How to eradicate the weeds is one of
the great problems of the farmer. On
permanent moving and grazing lots we
are confident the great secret is to keep
the land free of stagnant water, and well
supplied with the requisite food for the
nutrition of higher orders of vegetation.
On this point our observation and expe-
rience fully confirm the conclusions of
that sage of agriculture, John A. Nash,
who says:
81. With regard to permanent NOW
lands. If they are properly manured
and then drained in such places as show
the need of drainage, by growing sour
water grasses and weeds, instead of the
sweet and nutritious grasses, there will
be no trouble with weeds, except along
the borders.
"2. With pastures it is much the
same. If smooth and grassed over in
all parts very little attention will be
wanted to keep them free from useless or
hurtful growths. But if rocky and rough,
dry in some parts and wet in others,
considerable labor may be expended
on them advantageously in cutting down
and uprooting all bushes and weeds an
nually, in August or September; in
draining the wet places whenever this
can be done, by scooping a channel for a
short distance, and in cleaning out such
wet places as cannot be drained cheaply,
and leaving them to grow water-grasses,
since these are better than nothing for
cattle in dry times, when the sweet up
land grasses are perishing by lack of
moisture"
We have rooted out daisies, docks,
golden-rod, thistles, and even snap
dragon from our moving lots simply by
top-dressing them in the fall and moving
them twice in the summer The higher
vegetation is as sure to triumph over
the lower in grass lands as truth is
sure to triumph over error, provided only
it has fair chance. Foul weeds invari-
ably creep into moving lot or pasture
where the soil is exhausted of the ele-
ments of nutrition requisite for the pro
duction of the best English grasses, and
they as invariably retire when these lots
are we'll top-dressed for a series of years,
Weeds are never seen on lawn simply
because the lawn is kept in good heart
for the production of fine grasses. Even
though the manure with which they are
dressed may contain foul seeds, the
weeds get no foothold. The grass has a
pre-emption claim.
VII DiOWtu bHC CdSt 10
and we must confess that we have been
put to our wits end to know how to get
rid of the weeds in an old and rich gar.
den. Clean cultivation during the growth
of the vegetables does not seem to
answer the purpose. After the season
for hoeing and cultivating has passed
the weeds spring up and grow luxuriant
ly, and we have been compelled to resort
to the scythe to prevent them from ma
turing seed and multiplying themselves
some sixty, some an hundred, and ssme q
thousand fold. II we can get out the
early vegetables and plow the ground
and plant another crop we are all right
but in the case of late potatoes, onions
etc, which require the whole season for
maturing, the weeds have greatly the ad
vantage over the cultivator ON rich old
land.
Whenever it can be done we should
advise to stock down the old garden
choke out the weeds with grass, and star