Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1875-08-13
PlOw, Speed the Pl0w and Keep
Flowing.

Nor one farmer in 10000 plows his
ground half enough. Hence light crops.
On large majority Of farms the tillable
ground consists largely of sods and clods,
whereas the entire seed-bed should be
plowed and narrowed and worked over
and over until the entire surface soil is
firm and mellow. 1t will remunerate gen
erously to pillow and keep blowing until
the soil is reduced to fine state of COM
intuition When land is overrun with
foul weeds one of the chief objects ofplow-
ing is to destroy this pernicious growth.
August is one of the best months of the
entire year for eXterminating nOxiOus
weeds and bushes of any kind. If they
are cut off near the surface of the ground
nature will make a desperate effort to re-
produce another top, and the roots will
spread but little until new stem and
leaves have attained medium size, when
the roots, if it is the habit of the plant to
spread by the roots, will begin to push in
every direction and to send up new stems.
This is particularly true with the Canada
thistle. If the top is moved off close to
the ground the roots will spread slowly,
and in few years, by simply moving off
the top three times during the growing
season, the thistles will be so effectually
subdued that in grass ground they will
give but little trouble. There are many other
kinds OF weeds that farmers should NOW
OIL, cut up, or pull up during the present
month. The horseback, in some portions
OF the country, has taken almost entire
possession of the ground The most eff
fectual way to eradicate this noxious plant
is to cut off the tops close to the ground,
and gather all the branches and panicles
OF seed into heaps, and after they have be-
come dry burn them. When the young
plants first appear they should be pulled
when the ground is wet On many farms
the borders of the fields are lined with
complete hedges of bull thistles, briers,
shrubs and elder bushes, which root out
all the grass, thus rendering the ground
utterly worthless for anything useful.
More than this, such belts of hedges and
torn bushes are disfguring blotch on
the face of many fine farms, rejecting great
discredit on the reputation of the prOprie-
tor as neat and efficient manager. The
most effectual way to exterminate such
"eye-sores" of the farm is to remove the
fence, cut down every bush even with the
ground, and, with a strong team, turn the
ground nicely over, six or eight inches
deep; after which let the entire ground be
narrowed thoroughly three or four times.
Such severe pruning of roots and branch
es at this season of the year will injure
vegetation of any kind so seriously that
but little labor next season will utter
ly exterminate the worst hedge ON the
farm.
From the present time to the end of the
growing season let the watchword be
pillow" We have some ground that is
badly infested with sorrel and lot of
other weeds, which we intend to pillow in
August, then in September, and again in
October Between the plowings the soil
will get thorough narrowing. Such treat
ment will not only destroy every green
thing, root and branch, but it will put the
field in an excellent condition for seed