Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1880-10-16
GENERAL NEWS.
THE wires are Frustrated by the storm
cast and west and we have no telegraph
news to-day.]
THE WEED PESTS.

III farming country ike this, special
attention must sooner or later be paid
to the weeds which seize on every field
and struggle hard for the mastery. In
the rich clean soil Of new country, they
are however usually allowed their own
way till they become too we'll rooted and
seeded to be expelled.
We call all plants native to these prai-
ries weeds except the grasses, because
they all are 80 utterly useless and fruit
less. The psoralea esculenta, or ''pomme
blanche" is about the only eatable thing
native to the prairies; its tasteless bulb
contains enough starch to save an Indi-
an from starving.
All weeds or wild plants OF the prairies
are specially adapted to this climate and
soil,or else they. .would'long ago have per.
lshed. 10 endure as they have for ages,
they must be stoo acrid or ill-tasting for
grasshopper food, too strong and fbrous
to be blown to pieces in the vino, too deep
rooted and retentive of sap to be killed
by heat and drought. They are mostly
coarse, prickly, rough to the hand, with
strong stems, small expanse of foliage.
slight tendency to evaporate their juices,
and able to Withstand all extremes of
temperature. The native grasses also
partake of these needful traits. We
have a few smooth, soft, succulent weeds,
but their bitter taste protects them.
New weeds are yearly appearing;
brought in by accident from the east or
west. The sand-bur is spreading rapidly
in this town, and doubtless has come to
stay. have found one single plant of
dotura stramonium or jamestown weed,
at the present steamboat landing, this
fall. The burdock or Canada thistle may
be expected soon..I presume. They will
be found growing, where paoking-straw
from the east has been scattered. Ialso
recently found one lonely plant of May
weed, maruta cotula, down by Morgan's
elevator; and its little white flowers car
ried the mind back thirty years to half
forgotten times and places.
Another weed of late introduction but
very rapid and permanent spread, is the
c1eome integritolia, the large rank plant
with multitude of purple flowers, that
fills the waste places along the "Rhine.'
This plant is advertised in the eastern
bee-journals as tho "Rocky Mountain
honey plant" as the best and most per.
manent bee-pasture for dry seasons
Its seed is sold and distributed by mail
to honey-producers far and near. This
cleome came to Yankton but very few
years ago; it probably worked down the
river, and will spread in various ways
till it is known everywhere.
There are other weeds that invariabl,
follow cultivation. and seem already ole
settlers here, such as the terrible cookie
bur, ranthium strumnrium, the two kinds
of ambrosia or rag-weed, the fre-weed OF
erechthites, the roll-weed and pig-weed
which are varieties of a,aaranthus, tn,
chenopodium or goose-foot or lambs-quar
ter. and the bidens, or DEVILS pitchfork
Then the wild helianthus or sunhower, O
several varieties, the numerous sorts O
solidago or golden-rod, and other fast
growing weeds, combine with the forego
ing to transform plowed field in Ma,
into forest in September, unless goo,
cultivation prevents. Their immens
size and vigor drain the soil far NOR
than crop Of grain, and rob the farme
of much that evaporates or burns u
never to return again into his ground.
Then for small but perpetual trouble
he has the drassica or kale, the portuluc
or purslane c'pusley'), the solanum ~
stratum, very prickly plant (of which
found one specimen thriving here thi
summer), the solanum ntgrum or nigh
shade, and the calystegia or bind-wee,
which does great harm to crops and
nearly ineradicable. The poison ivy {
rAus toricodcndron of homeopathy, lurl
in the groves and ravines, to disable no
and then an unlucky laborer; and IL
cynoylossum of the thickets covers h
clothing with "beggar's lice"
Six kinds of euphorbiu or spurge a
native to this soil, the most striking b
ing the euphorbin ma'yinata, or viii
weed of the prairies, so much admire
The cannabis saticn or common hem
has taken root from scattered bird-see
and set up for itself in business as q me
weed of the city. If corn, potatoe
melons, bananas, oysters, cigars and 9th
useful products would only 60 and
likewise, this would be desirable wor
to own property in.
A strange prickly weed growing
Second street attracted my attenti
lately and it seemed to be a late impt
tation. 1t proved to be the Russi
witch Q terrible pest that came ov
with the immigrants from the Black s,
1t soon fills the wheat fields with sucl
prickly tangle of weeds that horses CO
not be used to harvest it. A huge spe
men Of it may now be seen on the sit
walk near the Germania house. Des
ing further information about this pc
I sent sample to the botanist of
Department Of Agriculture for namil
I received the following informati
dated October 9th:
This is the salsoia kali, or salt-wort. or X,
aplant growing mostly on the sca shore or
saline ground, and in some places extensiv
used in the manufacture of kclp or sodA-sa
which ia employed in glass manufacture
otherwise. Al It il AN annual plant. it can pr
ably he extcrminAted by putting the land j