Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-01-31
AN AeoMlNAelE WEED.
4 western Farmers Theory ~ the Causs
Of Hog Cholera.

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4 Western Farmers Theory ef the Causs
Of Hog Cholera.
As was driving along the road ono
day last September with one of the
most successful farmers in this section,
he called my attention to . forty-acre
pasture which was literally covered
with rag-weed. and said: THAT in
fernal weed will take this country yet!
1t springs " on the meadows after
we have cut the hay, it takes the stub
bic fields after we have removed the
wheat and oats. it covers the pastures
like forest, it smothers the potato
and garden patches. it fourishes and
stinks along the highway and
in every spot and corner where
it can find square inch of
space to stand in, its nasty yellow
pollen fills the air and poisons every
breath. Altogether it is the meanest,
stinkingest and most abominable weed
that ever stuck root in the soil OF
these United States. To successfully
fight it we have two weapons which !
know of: One is the pillow and the
other is sheep. / have fifty acres OF
sheep pasture and there is not a rag
weed visible in it. while my forty-acre
cattle pasture is overrun with the vile
thing.
"Last August turned a lot of fine
fat shoats into a twenty-acre field OF
wheat stubble to pick up the volunteer
wheat, pig-weed and such like stuff,
and they did finely until the rag-weed
began to bloom; then they began to
cough and NOPE about, and the first
thing knew they were dying. Itook
them out. put them in clean yard
and supplied them with plenty Of
fresh water in big troughs. and in 8
week or ten days they were all right
but they had actually lost more flesh
than the best feeding would put on
them in a month. This summer
turned a lot of sows into my cattle
pasture and they got along all right
and were doing well until that stuff
began to bloom, then they began tc
cough and lose flesh. l took them out
and in about a week they were al
right. l am satisfied that it was the
pollen from the blossoms of the rag
weed which did the damage. Il
seemed to choke, or rather suffOcate
them"
In speaking of this matter to anoth'
er stockman, a few days afterward.
was somewhat surprised to hear him
state that his experience was very
similar His hogs, running in past
ure wherein was a good stand of rag
weed, were doing we'll until the weed
began to bloom, then they commenced
coughing and lost flesh rapidly. He
thought they were attacked by chole-
ra. so he hurriedly put them in clean
yard, administered various remedies
and supplied them with cooked food
for about week. when they seemed
to have fully regained their health
and friskiness. He returned them
to the pasture, and in few days the
cholera symptoms returned. and one
of them died. Then it struck him that
the rag-weed might be the cause OF
the trouble. He yarded the hogs
again, dosed them a little. and they
quickly recovered. He then had the
rag-weed cut down with mower,
raked up and hauled of. A heavy
rain fell soon after and he returned
the hogs to the pasture. and. though
they remained there until late in the
fall, not one of them ever coughed or
manifested a ''cholera" symptom OF
any sort-Cor. Orange Judd Farmer.
$500 >,,~.,~s 40