The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-07-25
audarsult gnteltigeltter.
FREEDOM FROM NUT GRASS,
A Great Agricultural Problem Solved by a
Carolina Matron.
Ei1efeld Monitor,

A Great Agricultural Problem Solved by a
Carolina Matron.
Edgefeld Monitor,
AS some mutual friend to whom re-
lated my trying experience with nut
grass has evidently inspired your edito.
rial request last week that I should
report progress in cultivating the pest
"for hog food, Ito "evict" the once covot.
ed nuisance, I cheerfully comply.
1t is a fact, as you intimate, that just
after the war did plant nut grass for the
double purpose indicated. Many will
say it vas fool.hardy enterprise, and l
must confess that for long time I sorely
repented the undertaking; but am
glad of it now for two things: First,
because I have learned that nut grass
tubers are rather poor diet for hogs-not
SO good as the roots of either Bermuda
or johnson grass, or white melilotus-
and, second, because ] have discovered
how to kill the pest, or rather Mrs. NJ. j.;
Tillman (my wife elmade the discovery,
while T. like the gallant; husband in the;
bear fight, early retired from the contest,
althoughI had deliberately brought on
the struggle in our truck patches, which
soon extended to the garden, contrary
to my intention, when 1 planted the
nuts.
The plan ofcampaign to extirpate nut
grass is simply to prevent it, maturing
seed above ground. Nearly everybody
thinks the nuisance reproduces itself
from the nut alone, whereas it propsgates
a thousond times more from the seed,
which it generates on cultivated fertile
land almost as abundantly as crab grass
itself, and these COCO seed, like crab grass
seed, will lie dormant on or in the ground
for years, or ages, until the soil shall be
cultivated. Hence, to effectuslly and
quickly destroy nut grass on any land
infested With 1.-THE soil should: be fire..
quently stirred during the growing; period
of summer so as to stimulate each nut
and seed to sprout and come up. Tits q
waste of effort to attack coco in winter
either by digging or ploughing or turning
hogs on it. The best time for fighting it
is between midsummer and frost time.
although myriads ofthe gprigs will show
itself above ground in a:day or two after
each working ofthe soil, even in the
spring months, yet no seed stem will
shoot up. till late in the season, and the
secret ofsuccess, as before remarked, is
merely to cut down every tall seed stem
while in the Towering stage at the latest,
and the sooner the better.
The old and most approved theory for
destroying coco, by cutting it of under
the surface ofthe ground every time q
sprig appears above the surface, is a
useless expenditure of labor. That
method persisted in long enough will Of
course eradicate it, but what cost of
attention, patience and toll The ground
should be otter stirred with plough or
hoe from April rill frost, as before men.
toned, to make every nut and seed come
up if possible and as soon as possible,
but there is no urgent necessity, as
far as graduating the grass is
concerned, to kill its sprigs until
they begin to shoot up seed stalks. For
this purpose it il only requisite to plough
up or chop down the grass at the regular
intervals Of working Indian corn, collards
OF any other crop. Still it is advisable to
plant the land in some tall growing crop
which shall neither cover nor obscure
some COCO ssed stem GO as to prevent it
being observed and destroyed.
/ By. the above method two years are
ample time in which to rid any ground
of coco. In fact, one season is sufficient
to eradicate ite1cept that feW scattering
sprigs will show themselves in subsequent
years, which can easily be prevented
from going to seed by close attention.
But this close attention must be
given in every instance to com.
mand success. Coco is like the cookie
bur in its vigorous vitality. All corn
planters on river or creek low grounds
know with what bloodhound persistence
the cookie bur seeks to propagate itself
3as the season advances and the intensity
Sof the effort to reproduce itself after it is
cut down is in direct proportion to the
time remaining before frost. One bur
will sometimes mature seed on the very
surface of the ground in an incredibly
short time, and although COCO is not quite
this persistent at reproduction, yet it's
lseed stalks must be carefully hunted
for and destroyed as frost approaches.
One cause that has enabled coco so long
land 80 defantly to hold its sway at the
South is that We have so few crops which
iare hoed or ploughed in the fall of the
year. This, together with the popular
error that COCO propagates from the nut
alone, explains the whole story ofits uni
Iversal triumph over the patience, sweat,
curses and blows Of the millions who have
varied on it.
By pursuing the plan above hurriedly
outlined, Mrs. Tillman has completely
Iextirpated nut grass from three different
iplats of fground where it once held un-
disputed sway. What caused her to con.
iceive theproper plan Of battle for de-.
:stroyipg the grass was brought about in
this wise: About 1--WE years ago she had
two favorite squares in our large garden
broken up preparatory for spring vege-
tables, but before she could get the seed
in the ground the nut grass came up SO
;ouicklv and proved 40 rapidly and yipor.