, 1874-06-20
THE FARM AND GARDEN.


THE FARM AND GARDEN.
Tho fsntt1o OF tho we o.ss-shnll we
Cultivate to Feed tho Plants or to
Kill tfao Weed. 1-Sv,1~to Of I.stbor-
TcnGhArtg Tito Elesaaonfs OF Agrtct11-
tire i'm tho Common Schools.
Etom Our Agricultural Correspondent.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill.,, june II, 1874.
Juno haa been onlugizcd MI tho month OF roseB
and rodolent with tho aroma Of cloycr. That Is
all we'll enough. porapa, to The poet, tho lover
and Tho porson Of arso loisrro; but ono poet las
said:
Tho lnnstie. The poot;; sni tic lover,
So wo may pass by all this matter Of roBos
ciovor-bfoom, green poaB, Strawberries, and carly
potatooB and come down to
TIE nATrLE or THE wEEps,-
h battlo tint hua boon all the month thus far,
aud to tho end must DO. pursued with unilagging
zeal. layo been out In tho fields looking at
the battlo with tho hoo, tho ho rrow, tho cultl-
yator, and the roller. My carly education waa
In favor Of tho hoo,-tho hoo that had roisop In
its edge, sharp edge, Of ct,urso, applied by
muscular arms, woll-suppliod with clbow-greaso
We'll, that doctrine s tho received doctrine OF to-
day at tho Ensr, Us Aavo found on q regent
yisit.-tho lioe being the great antagonist in tho
warfare, whero plg-woed, qu1ck-graHs, pursiatn,
or dock daraB to rear ts head- But this is not
tho doctrine OF the West. where tho cutiyator,
the double-shovel, tho harrow, aud tho roller,
play 10 conspicuous o part. And this has 1ed t o
another question:
WHY TIE DATTIE OF THE wEEps7
Do we cultivate and hoo simply to ltu. tho
woods +? MoBt certainly that is the doctrr. 10, tho
orthodox dogma, In tho farmors croed, and ho
s.n xntSx~ .1.o II
lreretias even in regard to tho killing. Of tho
n eeda.
To state It plainly: With proper ,euttrre ve
hav no occasion to hayo hnttle Wit :, tho Weeds
The primary object OF good cultu, is not Tie
death Of tho woods, hut tho II ,cdiug of tho
plants; giving the corn, tho pots toes. aud tho
whole list Of products, suitable lant-food, TINT
the roots shall tako up, and tt ,us add to their
solid tlsB,,es. flooding plants Why, my dear
sir, tho plants feed us. Well, lot us 800. Wo
plant row cf potatoes. anl4, II no do not hoe
them, they arc killed. by tho weeds.
just go, and that prov, ea that tho weeds
must be killed, or no potatoes will
ho found in tho hill at diggiug-.irno. Had we
kept down tho weeds. TIT cnso would have been
different. Thus no 10 eau Bay that yeel-
killing is not essential to crop Of posatoea; and
thus the proof ia post ivo that hoeug is tho great
essential. The farmf,r who could hoo his corn
thrco timos was poif tied cut as the true iarn,er,
mud hlH cribB ere always full Of lusty ears
who the farm er Esho hood nlB corn but ouco
often Ind TO II ork out by tho day to buy corn
for Ills use, or to 60 without. But that
hoeing Of enrn and hilIing of POTATOES
by hand ia awful nurd work. most
especially for boys, I'd worry we'll remember,
And used to- say to mysolf, Master 1luraI,"
whom you grc ~ up, aud become big-sized man,
aud own q ra: m, you will not grow corn, beans,
or potatoes for market, but seect some crop
that will DO Ii 1873 e1.actiug on your muscles. Tho
result has BET N TINT only ten acres Of corn hayo
beon hocd, an d !'.as OF potatoes hitlod by hand.
that the weetIa cannot grow, what is tho result
No potatoes, Of course. Why of couraeF The
weeds have not killed them; but no potatoes
for oil TINT. They haye boon shut Oft from their
supposed 10, bo in the soil. and TINT wo hayo beon
taught the son is only capable OF supplying
for. oven nder the boards, there is moisture and
tho tuhers ought to grow; ,yet they rofuse to do
80, and the. boarda that exclude the mir from the
roots arc - potent in cheeking growth as tie
weeds that rob the plants Of their food And
this leads us to the fact tint We do not haye to
kill the weeds, but to
KlfEP THE so1I OPEN 70 TIE AIR,
80 that 1t may carry down into the soil the very
therefore, assume that tho killing Of weeds il
only incidental and, IN their absence, hoeing or
culsivatitig would yef. be essential to tho health
Of tho phant. Lot =. thin oruht form oil tic ntr-
face, 30 % to oIa!udo the air, and the plant
ceases to grow, trnugh tho soil below rornnins
moist. Il IL, tleu, for. tho purpose Of COM
nllnutng tho soil, and keeping It open to tho
asr, tlat NO aFtpiy NO much OF labor.
From thlH Lew standpoint wo may lay 1t down
ns q acionee, TINT plants must be fed !; and, that
in the get Q feeding, the weeds are al incident
ally killed therefore. We need no longer talk of
the battle Of the weeds. bnt taik Of plant-food,
need.
TIC next Question is
THE APPLICATION OF TIE rn1Sc1pLE,
% hft Fosunates uS T'y hoes es i. al ID" esaps If N
Ey Rsse poatoes aa planted April 'iss s. and on on
iand full Of the aeods Of wsotls in short, for
the man with the hoe this WAS QUO Of tue most
Imagined. Before 1t could DO plowed last full,
the wecla had to bo raked aud burned. To pro.
uara It for planting, the rowE we're nlarkod out
Nth tho aid of common Bingle'shoyol plow.
inchos apart in tho row, and tho covaring was
done By passug harrow across tho rowH. Tho
operation Of planting killed ono sot OF
| weelB that had 1nado their appearance very
thickly,-so much so that tho man with tho hoo
would have felt h,s courage oozo out ut the ends
of his iingerh. A week lator another edition Of
weeds was ready. and these had thorough, har-
rowing, aud the roller followed. H. week lator,
and tile first plants OF potatoes began to break
ground, anl yet another thick crop Of weeta.
Again the harrow mud tho roller went On tueir
mission to open and to pulyeriza tho BOIL TINT
piant-fooa might reach tho roots Of tic potato-
plants thnt wero now atruggliug for tho light.
Tho following week saw another masB Of young
weedB. But tho potato-planis were too large
for tho harrow, mud now ca,no the two.horse
Butltycuttiyator, and the shovel was 30 arranged
that just tho tips Of tho potato-plauts ronlained
| in sight, that IN, the most vigorous Of thom,-
while the analler onos went out Of aight. rhis
| also tiniBhnl the weetla.
Tho noxt wook tho, weeds wero css
was turned againat tho now vigorous p!antH.
bnce ther they 1layo had two moro turns Of tho
cuitiyator; al,d on tho lth Of June they began
to bloom, aud OH tho 10th were fn full bloom /;
md now wo have curly potatoes for dinner, naud
tho hoo has not boon taken down for tho purpose
OF k.!iing q single weed, and the whole patch is