The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1898-10-29
FARMER AND PLANTER.
TOO CLEAN FARMING.
a New Idea Set Forth for tho Farmer to
Pondcr-A Plea In Behalf Of
the Weeds.

Ahere seems 10 be a tendency o.
the part of human nature in genera
10, II they see a good thing, pass j
along, and in the passing along of thi
good thing they are determined to e
the whole hog or none; mother words
they go as far as their rope viii lie
them, and il they only have rop
enough, they will either hang them
selves or get badly tangled. This i
and has been true, not only of tn,
present age, but of all ages since tn,
world began.
Truth is stranger than fiction il
this enlightened age. 1t does seen
reasonable to suppose that man whs
had all the advantages conferred by
liberal education, and one, too, who
poses as an educator of his fellow man
might once in a while take breathing
spell and rest from his philanthropie
iabors long enough to at least find out
whether he himself is on the right
road.
1t actually seems like the better ed.
ucated man gets, and the more scien.
tific and advanced his education, the
more likely he is to take up with the
latest fad, fashion, folly or fallacy that
is sprung upon him by the ever rest
less, imaginative and inventive genius
who tries to show that Solomon didn't
know what he was talking about when
he said there was nothing new under
the sun. This statement of the wisest
man that ever lived is just as true to-
day as 1T was when first uttered by
him, though the inventive mind of
man is continually finding new uses
for old things. 1t is because, at this
day and time, the whole scientific
world has gone crazy over leguminous
crops. as clover, cow peas, etc., i'm
putting to them almost miraculous
virtues, to the ignoring of other things
that are fully as valuable, that we feel
inclined to put in a good word for the
ill-used and sadly-abused weed. What
is weed? A plant out of place. That
is all there is of it. A stalk of corn or
cotton where the corn or cotton is too
thick is as much weed as the most
despicable and thoroughly despisable
weed that ever grew. Our scientific
friends are always ready to tell the
farmer just how much nitrogen, phos-
phoric acid and potash ton of weeds
deprive thu crop of, where both are al
lowed to grow together, but seldom
the manurial value to the farmer, of
the weeds themselves. "A notable ex-
ception to this altogether too general
rule is the experiment. station of West
Virginia, which devoted bulletin of
nine pages toward showing the high
value of the majority of the more COM
mon weeds as fertilizer.
Be it known that we are by no
means advocating the raising of
crop of weeds among our cultivated
crops; on the contrary, we believe in,
advocate and practice clean crops, and
such abundance of room for each and
every plant as will enable said plant
to spread itself and do its level best.
yet. as in the economy of nature, album
dant room has been found for an
abundant crop of weeds, too; we not
only find room for them, but we also
find use for them.
1t has been stated that ton of pig
weed contains as much phosphoric
acid, twice as much nitrogen and five
times as much potash as ton of or
binary barnyard manure. In the bul- |
letin above referred to, 100 pounds of |
poke weed is credited with containing
3.34 pounds of nitrogen, "a pounds of |
acid and eight pounds of |
potash. This weed as fertilizer has
/ commercial value of 2193 per ton. A |
ton of bitter dock is worth $16.26; of |
ox-eye daisy, $1,000; burdock, SLIGO;
toad fax,s10.27, and so on to the end |
If a long chapter. Speaking from a
practical standpoint, we have turned |
lnder hog weed, cocklebur. rag weed,
md other weeds, when they were ten,
2 or more feet high, and as fertliiz-
# and as an ameliorator of soil con-
lition have found them equal to any
# the legumes.. In fact, they are bet
er, for no legume of our acquaint
nee will begin to furnish the amount
# vegetable matter that these weeds
will.
But to our text-''too clean farm
n.y." Can farming be too clean? Yes,
# course it can. How so? We will IL
ustrate by showing the practice of
me of our near neighbors-one, too,
vho bore the somewhat enviable repu-
alton Though undeserved) of being
good farmer. BY this they meant
hat he invariably raised good crops.
his is no more than we ought to I
ave done, as he had the very best of
God land to operate upon. Now what
J the result The land is tired, worn
ut, exhausted. Why so? Because
lis farming is too clean. His crops
Tere annually hoed and piowed until
here was nothing left but the land,
nd that was soon killed, too. In adj
ition to clean culture, every spring
shen pillow time came, corn stalks
-