Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1896-05-29
hat It Is of fair quality AMI
Fable value as q kind of

liable value as kind of
lcP' for use In the absence OF
and other forage Of better quality.
mas sometimes been plowed under In
July for green fertilizer, and the state
ment has been made. though evidently
without careful experiments, that 1t Is
equal to clover for this purpose. Recent
chemical analyses give 1t a food value
comparable with that OF clover, but in the
absence of carefully conducted feeding
experiments this is quite indecisive.
Some weight should be given to the fact
that the Russian thistle belongs to class
of plants none Of which have ever beea
found to be valuable for forage except IN
desert regions. Its roots are too short to
bring up plant food from the subsoil, au1
there Is an entire lack of indications that
1t draws its nitrogen from the air and
stores 1t in a form available for other
plants, which are the essential charac-
ters of plants suitable for green fertiliz-
ing. Like other weeds or vegetation of
any kind plowed under, 1t will add some
humus to the soil, and it is certainly
much better for it to be thus utilized than
to be allowed to blow away. Wherever
the Russian thistle has been introduced
the above methods of making use of 1t
should by all means be taken advantage
of, as they are among the best methods
of eradication and at the same time afford
some direct compensation for the work
entailed.
Rapid Spread.
During the % years since its introduc-
ton into this country 1t has spread win
greater rapidity than any other weed.
Ninety new localities were reported to the
department of agriculture during 1894 and
So In 1895 previous to November TO- /:
now occurs in places from eastern On
tario and New Jersey to the western
borders Of Idaho and California, and from
Manitoba to New Mexico and Missouri.
being most abundant in South Dakota and
adjacent states. Twenty states and thr Ae
Canadian provinces are known to be in
tested. and, although not reported, 1t ~
probably present in the states of Oregon
and Washington.
Warning to Pacific Coast.
East of the Rocky mountains the thistle
is already so widely distributed that its
continued progress in that region is in
evitable. Its advent in Idaho and Cali
fornia, however, is far more serious
matter. The Rocky mountains present a
great natural barrier which the thistle
will not easily pass, except by artificial
conveyance. With the natural conditions
thus favorable to it's exclusion, and with
a full knowledge of the disastrous nature
of the scourge, 1t Is almost criminal to al
low 1t to become established west of the
Rockies. To the Pacific coast the Sierra
Nevada and Cascade mountains afford ad-
dit!onal protection, but some seed will
be sure to find its way over this barrier
also, especially If the thistle is allowed
to obtain a hold In the great basin. In
view of these facts, the California wheat
grower should take precautions against
the weed, opposing both it's direct intro
duction into California from the plains
east of the RocA.es and it's gradual ad-
vance by way of the great basin.
Remedies.
The plant is an annual, easily k.Iled
at any time during the growing season.
1t produces no seed before the middle OF
August or first Of September. and the
seed is short lived. The circumstances,
therefore, are exceptionally favorable for
its being checked, or even exterminated.
In order to secure a complete extirpation
these two conditions must be fulfilled:
/. No Russian thistle shall be allowed
to produce seed.
2. There must be concerted action
throughout all the infested area.
If the Russian thistle, wherever found,
should be killed before 1t produces seed
during three successive years, the pest
would in all probability be completely ex-
terminated; for the experiments already
made indicate that lie vitality of the
seed is lost within that period. But since
ha ic oil a
neighboring crop, If action is not taken
everywhere and at one time the work will
have to be done over indefinitely.
Wheat and other spring crops should
be sowed as early as possible ON we'll pre-
pared land. so that the crop may get a
vigorous start and shade the ground be-
fore the weed seeds terminate. The
wheat may then be cut early, when there
ls less danger that the thistle plants
will be large enough to cause trouble in
harvesting. By such a plan this and
many other weeds growing In the stubble
may be destroyed before they produce
seed.
The land should be plowed as soon as
possible after the wheat is cut, and II
| this can not be done before the first oil
September the stubble should be burned
| The thistle is still rather juicy in Angus,
and burns with difficulty, so that 1t is ad-
visable to NOW the stubble and let 1t dry
| a few days before firing. In this con-
| nection the Importance of harvesting witt
| a header is to be emphasized, as --.e
| greater amount Of stubble left by thi;
process furnishes material for more
| thorough burning. The land should bt
plowed or the stubble burned immediate
| ly after harvesting a crop of barley, rye
| or oats.
ADVICE TO BUYERS OF STOCE