The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1897-05-18
KNOWLEDGE POWER.
Don't Let Weeds Rob Your Crops of
Water and Plant Food.
u pn,r- Il, D,.a,:.i

Il. b. Terry in Practical Farmer
When stirring the surface of the sol
to make an earth mulch, to proven,
evaporation of moisture, we may save
| considerable in another way at tn,
same time. We may keep the weed,
| from growing. Really one can hardly
do perfect work in the line of keeping
an earth mulch on the surface without
destroying the weeds. But it is we'll tC
understand just what harm the weed,
do. Then we may be very careful to
have our tillage such as will prevep,
their doing us any injury. We are told
that 1T takes from 300 to 500 pounds OF
water to grow one pound Of dry matter
in weeds and some crops. This large
amount is evaporated through the
leaves of the plants while thew are
growing. Ono hundred pounds OF dried
weeds per acre would probably take
from the soil while growing about 20
tons OF water. You see that is not a
great amount OF weeds, but in dry
season 1t would be water enough to be
of considerable value to the crop of
corn or potatoes, Or whatever Won
might be cultivating. Has not many a
farmer let more weeds than this grow
peri APPS ten times Overland had a
short crop for lack Of water? Is this
businesslike
But this is not all by any means. Sit
down and think minute. What do
you put manure and fertilizers ON your
land for To feed yourcrops, of course
And there are three elements in them
ol value In this line. They are nitrogen,
phosphoric acid and potash. There are
Just 80 many pounds and ounces of these
elements in the manure and fertilizer
that Will be available to the crop that
year. Then there will be some more
pounds and ounces made available in
the soil that season by the processes OF
nature. Now, here is the point: 1t is
not probable that on one farm in one
hundred where tho p. F. goes, there is
enough available plant cd on all the
cultivated acres to grow IL maximum
crop. We have very little land rict
enough now, except in some parts of
the W-st, to grow the largest possible
crop. There are q great many farms
where the yield per acre is no more
than half what it might be. Now, every
pound and ounce Of this plant food that
yCr let the weeds use takes just that
much away from your crop Think a
little while. Haven't told the truth
You can't help but see it. When there
isn't plant food enough in the soil to
grow the crop and the weeds, and the
weeds take some, tho crop must get
along with so much less The reduced
crop Is not matter OF luck, usual V.
out OF poor business management. HAD
too much to do? Undertake less. You
may half do as many things as YOU
plr ase and you never will succeed
Land 80 wet early in season you could
not get on 1t and weeds got the start?
Drain the land. Then stir the surface,
always on time, with slanting toothed
harrow after planting, and weeder
alter crop comes up, etc. etc. II
weed comes up and grows few inches
IL has robbed your crop, even If you
destroy it then. Tho way we believe
In is to destroy the weed while in the
SOIL by the stirring Of the surface Kill
1T before 1T gets out of the ground, so
far as Is practical Thousands OF farm
ers in the East still hoe their corn and
potatoes. Where the land is very stony
or rough this may be necessary But
over most OF the country weeds can be
kept from growing, and an earth mulch
can be formed very rapidly by horse
power. We have done very little hand
work OF late years, because horse and
proper tools will do it many times
cheaper. And then it is done 80 rap
idly that the earth mulch is made on
time and the weeds are kept from
seeing daylight. 1t is the "stitch in
time"
Now, friends, II any of you are little
behind on this point, let me beg of you
to get into shape as fast as you can to
keep the weeds from robbing you. Don't
let them take from you more money
than would pay your taxes, and per-
haps some gears several times over.
There Is nothing suggested in this ar
ticle that we have not done on our farm
and found entirely practical. We have
tile drained wet places that used to
keep us out OF the field until the weeds
got started. | laid every tile myself.
We dug under and buried large stones,
and picked np smaller ones, many tons
OF them. We got out every stump and
tree and root, everything in the way of
fast tillage with light tools. Have Just
got out the last stumps on plow land we
bought three years ago Weeds used
! to rob us. Now, as rule, we keep
them down ~ very slight cost There
, Is money In it.. | have told you how
they steal from you. You have the
knowledge. Knowledge is power-ii
you put 1T into practice.