Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1886-04-01
DESTROYING WEEDS.
Sprout the Seed In the Ground and Kill
Them They Appear.

Sprout the Seed In the Ground and Kill
Them They Appear.
Weeds entail more labor on the
farmer than can be estimated. Yet il
the labor annually bestowed in the en-
deavor to eradicate weeds could be APP
piled at proper times not only would
the nuisance be removed, but the labor
lessened. In the case of weeds the
slightest amount of labor saved in not
killing them when it should be done,
entails greater labor at other times.
Nor is all labor on weeds lost. During
the eradication or destruction of weeds
the crops may be cultivated and the
land put IN better condition. One of
the gravest mistakes is in not destroy
ing the weeds when they first appear.
1t will require less labor to destroy q
hundred weeds when they are young
than to kill a single plant after it has
made considerable growth, to say
nothing of the fact that every weed
that reaches maturity and seeds
leaves greater work to be done after
ward.
Although farmers are busiest in
spring, and can not afford, apparently,
to devote time to weeds when the corn
is to be put in, yet by properly prepar-
ing the land for the intended crop they
can gain time. For year Or two the
farmer may find it difficult work COM
batting weeds, but the time so devoted
will be regained four-fold in after
years. Weeds can best be destroyed
when rotation is used. and the ground
should be plOwed for corn early enough
in the summer or fall to allow of the
seeds sprouting. Now, this sprouting
of the weed seeds is the most important
part of the process, and the farmer
should be willing to perform any
amount of labor if he can sprout them
at a time when they will not interfere
with a growing crop.
A field should be cultivated without
any crop at all, in order to clean il
thoroughly. 1t will be loss of crop
and labor, but a gain in the end. Pillow
it in the latter part of the season, and
then run in the cultivator over it every
time it becomes covered with young
weeds and then follow with the har-
row. In the spring, after the corn is in,
and the seed field is well covered with
weeds, pillow it again, before the weeds
can 60 to seed, and keep the cultivator
and harrow moving over it the whole
year. The next spring put it in corn, and
still keep up the cultivation. When the
corn is off, pillow it in the fall and SOW
to oats the following year. Such treat
ment will effectually kill out the weeds
and save labor afterwards.
Something else, however, is required.
All the seed used for crops should be
thoroughly examined and cleaned,
even if hand-picked. The manure
should be rotted, in order to destroy
the weeds, but this can not be done I'M
der all circumstances. BY handling
the manure once, and sprinkling every
portion with mixture of one pound
of sulphuric acid to five gallons OF
water, the manure will be rendered
more soluble. and the seeds destroyed.
If spread on the soil early in the sea-
son, and worked in with cultivator
near the surface, the seeds remaining
will be induced to sprout and the young
plants destroyed with but little labor:
The rule for the destruction of weeds,
therefore, is-''sprout the seed in the
ground and kill them just as they APP
pear out of the soil" By so doing they
can never make sufficient Roadway to
multiply. and if prevented from repro
ducinS themselves, they must neces-
sarily disappear if the farmer does not
introduce new seed to give him addi-
tional labor. Once prevent weeds from
seeding. and the manure will be fires
from them.-FasM, Field and Steel
man.