Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-11-23

there is a field OF especially thrifty
specimens which seed freely. False flax
IL another bad weed, which Is Just get
ting hold, but is seems to grow well
and may become n serious pest.
Dodder, called by some love vine, is
scattered here and there, but in some
fields Is sufficiently abundant to Kill
out alfalfa. Bindweed. or morning
glory as 1t Is called by some, grows
thrifty and Is vary difficult to eradi-
cate.
Weeds may be divided into three
classes. the division being based ON
the length of time required to mature
seed. ANIMALS are those which grow
from seed each year and are easy to
get rid Of Prevent seeding. and by
shallow and frequent culture induce
the seeds In the ground to germinate.
Careful treatment for year or two
will enable the famer to hold this class
in check. Diennlals require two years
for maturing, and perennials live from
year to yearreproduce themselves both
from seed and roots, and can be given
the same treatment. To get rid of
these thorough cultivation, preventing
the growth above ground and smother
Ing crops are required
The question here Is how to maintain
and improve the fertility of the soil
and control weeds by proper rotation
of grain and fodder crops. This can
be done to a large extent. Most crops
grown here may be divided into two
classes according to the kind of seed
produced or that substance which the
plants require from the soil. Cereal
crops such as wheat. oats. corn, timo-
thy and the like generally have thin
seeds covered with chat. They get
their mineral and heterogeneous matter
from the soil Directly and hence tend
to impoverlsh 1t. The other class. such
as beans, peas, alfalfa and all clovers,
are called legumes and produce seed in
a pod. In addition to taking material
from the soil they have power to
gather nitrogen or flesh forming ma
tcrial from the air and of storing 1t w
in the roots. These plants tend TO
enrich the soil with just those con-
stituents of which the farms of this
State are in many cases deficient. A
leguminous plant while storing con-
siderable amount of nitrogen In its
leaves and stalks, accumulates such
n large amount in its roots that the
surface soil Ia richer after the crop is
grown than before. Then there are
crops which have long roots and feed
from the lower layers. while there are
others that obtain their mineral mat
ter from near the surface. These
should he alternated, Some crops reach
maturity early in the season, while
with others the period of growth ex-
tends well into the autumn. Some are
cultivated, Wnlle Otncr are NOT.
If the above characteristics are kept
in mind, IA rotation can be so arranged
that the fertility will be decreased but
slightly and the weeds effectually con-
uuered. The intelligent growth of
leEuminous crops and the thorough
cultivation of the soil will, / believe
maintain indefinitely the fertility of
Utah farms. which with good rotation
properly handled and thorough culti-
walton will hold the weeds in subjec-
ton. 1t might occur to some that the
increased amount of grain produced
by intelligent culture could not be dis
posed of. Where n state Is buying
butter, cheese, pork products, poultry
eggs, etc, by the carload from out
side. as Is Utah, 1t seems to me that
our own barnyards might furnish the
market for most of our farm crops. |
believe with improved methods and
intelligent rotation, the Increasing de-
mand OF our own home markets for
| agricultural produce may be supplied
as well as that from our ncighbors
surrounding, and this, too. without
decreasing by one bushel the amount
of wheat now exported or increasing
the amount of land cultivated.