Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1885-08-14
Do Not Neglect the Weeds.

This is the time of year when we
are all quite liable to let the weeds get
the start of of us, and so get the upper
hand. We have cultivated and hoed
the fields and gardens very thorough
ly two or three times. and now wish to
give our whole attention to haying or
other matters. A shower starts new
crop of weed seeds; they look very
small and insi significant at first, but with
the warm weather of this season they
grow large in an incredibly short space
OF time. and il lett alone will cover the
ground with dense sward, which will
prove of serious injury to the crop.
And then they add insult to injury, as
1t were, by ripining their seeds to give
US untold trouble in the future.
A farmer should never feel that the
wedding season is passed until the
ground freezes in autumn, or until it is
too cold for weed seed to terminate.
Nearly all cultivated crops are benefit
ed by shallow cultivation so long as
the crop does not so shade the ground
as to prevent seeds from sprouting.
II 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 perfectly
clan field that will remain clean until
harvest time. If the previous cultiva-
ton has been what it should be, a
man will 20 over large area in day,
and the cost per acre will be light.
There are weeds in the corn field on
every farm, which of themselves would
do little. if any, harm to the presen.
crop, but if left to mature seed, will
prove very injurious to any spring
grain crop that may follow.
DR.. Sturtevant, who at one time
studied this weed question quite per-
sistently, and almost made enemies by
the course he pursued, found that a
corn field could carry a good many
weeds late in the season without iBjur.
ing the crop equal to the cost of re-
moving them /; but he stated that in
the usual farm rotation of corn follow
ed by the small grains and grass,
weeds do large amount OF injury,
and may possibly make the grain crop
improbable 10 raise.
Weeds are not such terrible NUS
ance If we will attack them in season,
but the trouble is, we neglect them
until they become firmly rooted IN the
the soil, or are so heavily rooted that
they will continue to grow after being
pulled up.
1t rarely pays to pull weeds that are
long past poisoning. Seeds partly
filled will ripen from the sap in the
stalks. Neither is it wise to pull
weeds, and thow them into the hog
pen to finish iipening their seeds, as is
the too frequent custom OF many.
Throwing them into the streets ht-
tie better, for the seeds will ripen, and
in after years the roadside becomes a
nursery OF weeds, from which the farm
and garden will be annually supplied.
Kill the weeds when they are small,
or bury them where they will rot after
they have attained size. But whatever
you do, or however you proceed, do
not let weeds get the mastery. A far
mer who cultiva.es more land than he
can cultivate web, and keep reason
ably free from weeds, ought to be
ashamed OF his work, and he generally
is. Weeds are unpopular, yet, like
the poor, We always have them with
you.