The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1878-09-25
The Beggar Weed.

good land, to an almost incredible
height. 1t grows so rank, that, in
hauling the corn from the field in the
winter OF following year, shields have
to be made of leather to protect the
shoulders of the mules. 1t grows
ten or twelve feet high, sometimes
higher, and will hide a wagon and
team fifty yards distant, and gentle
men who raise cattle on it tell me,
they arc frequently very much troub-
led to find large herd at distance
Of one hundred yards. It excels any
thing [ have ever seen. Its advantages
are numerous. I have tried my horse
upon it as a forage. | got down off
Of him once to test it and turned him
into piece Of new ground planted
in corn, and pea vines. Several stalks
of this beggar lice had come up at
intervals Of fifty yards. The horse
was surrounded by green corn, pea
vines and grass, yet, with as much
sense as a man could exhibit, he went
from stalk to stalk, as far as he could
see the beggar weed, and ate that
without touching anything else; and
no wonder, for it is so sweet that you
would almost cat it yourself. For
butter and milk, it far excels the pea
vines.
Col. HoWARD--Is it the same beg
gar lice that grows on Lookout
mountain?
CAPT. DAyIs-I do not know, but
think not. 1t has hollow stalk !;
but the one on the mountain has a
woody stalk. l do not know wheth-
er that is the effect Of the climate or
not. 1t is easily propagated. You
sow the seed. They are not the
same as the common beggar lice
seed in the hedges. You SOW the
seed and it grows absolutely as
thick as the hair on dogs back.
I do not believe I exagerate- 1t
grows as thick as anything you ever
saw in the world. 1t furnishes a
perfect shield from the beating rains
and heat of Summer. You can cut
it and it will come up again. The
sample that Mr.. Brooks has here is
the second cutting Of this year. The
time to cut it is Just when it is ready
to seed. Cut it in the morning and
take it up in the evening. Last
Winter I gave my horses scarcely
anything from the: middle of Sep
TENDER to the first Of February, but
this beggar lice Hogs, sheep and
COWS will fatten upon it. It's value
to southern Georgia, cannot be esti-
mated. I believe it is worth more
than clover to southern Georgia and
probably will be Of value to upper
Georgia, also. I mention this to
show the vast resources of this
State.
Some six or seven years ago | was
travelling in Columbia county, Flori-
da, and stopped with an old gentle
man, rather an intelligent man too !;
feigned entire ignorance of this
beggar weed. I said to him:
"You have got the weeds growing
in your field"
Said he: "We call that beggar
lice hay"
i" Is it any account ?" | asked.
II should say it is" he replied: 81
feed my hogs, horses and COWS on it.,
and it is better for them than corn
and peas. It is better than cotton
seed to manure the land. 1 can show
YOU now, old fields in Florida, worn
out in the Seminole war, and washed
away, that have been reclaimed and
this beggar lice sown on them, and
they are now the most productive
fields in the State of Florida. know
that to be true. An old gentleman,
one Of the mostsuccessful planters in
Thomas county, tells me, you may
take a piece Of land and SOW it in
beggar lice, and it will produce ten
bushels Of corn more next year than
it would before it was put in beggar
lice, and you may cultivate it for ten
subsequent years in corn without ap-
/ plying any more manure. 1t depos-
it's large amount of vegetable mat
ter upon the soil. 1t has long tap
root and goes down deep into the
| ground.
Question.-How much forage does
it make to the acre b?
AnScer.-I have never known tito
be cultivated by the acre.