River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-09-17
Do got Neglect the weeds.

This is the time of the year when We
are all quite liable to let the weeds ge
the start Of lis, and so get the upper
hand We have cultivated and hoeC
the fields and gardens very thoroughly
two or three times, and now wish tC
give our whole attention to haying OF
other matters A shower starts new
crop of weed seeds; they look very
small and insignificant at first, but with
the warm, weathero of this season they
grow large in an incredibly short space
Of time, and if let alone will cover the
surface of the ground with a dense
sward, which viii prove of serious
injury to the crop. And then they add in
suit to injury, as it were, by ripening
their seeds to give Us untold trouble ia
the future.
A farmer should never feel that the
wedding season is passed until the
ground freezes in autumn, or until it
i is to cold for weed seeds to terminate.
/ Nearly all cultivated crops are
| benefited by shallow cultivation so
Tong as the crop does not so shade the
ground as to prevent seeds from
sprouting.
/ 1t has been our own practice to go
through corn fields with light, sharp
hoe with wide plate, and scrape over
/ the surface, cutting out all late-start-
/ ing weeds, and leaving a perfectly
clean field that viii remain clean until
! harvest time. If the previous culti-
walton has been what it should be, a
man will 90 over a large area in a
! day, and the cost per acre will be light
I There are weeds in the corn fields on
every farm, which of themselves would
do little, if any, harm to the present
crop, but if left to mature seed, will
prove very injurious to any spring
grain crop that may follow.
DIR. Sturtevant, who at one time
studied this weed question quite per-
sistently, and almost made enemies by
/ the course he pursued, foand that q
corn field could carry a good many
weeds late in the season without in
juring the crop equal to the cost of
removing them; but he stated that IN
the usual farm rotation of corn followed
by the small grains and grass, weeds
do a large amount of injury, and may
possibly make the grain crops
Improbable to raise.
Weeds are not such terrible
nuisance if we will attack them in sea-
son, but the trouble is. we neglect them
until they become firmly rooted in the
soil. or are so heavily rooted that they
will continue tie grow after being
pulled up. 1t rarely pays to pull weeds
that are long past blossomlng Seeds
partly filed win ripen from the sap in
the stalks. Neither Is it wise to pull
weeds, and throw them into the hog
pen to finish ripening their seeds, as IS
the too frequent custom of many
Throwing them into the street is little
better, for the seeds wiil ripen, and In
after years the. roadside becomes a
nursery of weeds, from which the farm
and garden will DC annually supplied.
Kill the weeds when they are small,
or bury them where they will rot after
they have attained size. Put whatever
you do. or however YOU proceed, do not
let weeds get the mastery. A farmer
who culfyates more land than he can
cultivate well, and keep reasonably free
from weeds, ought to be ashamed OF
his work, and he generally is. Weeds
are unpopular, yet Ike the poor, ge
always haze them with you. -Aese
England Farmer