Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-09-15
VALUABLE CROPS ARE RUINED
BY THE ENORMOUS GROWTH.
LIVES LOST BY POISONOUS PLANTS
Bulletins Have Been Issued by De-
partment of Botany at Iowa AgrcuI-
! turaI College and Will be of Interest
to Land Owners.

nave this year more worries than u.s.
ual, as the heavy rains have aided the
weeds in their growth. Owing to the
fact that the department of botany of
the Iowa agricultural college at Ames
has received many requests from all
parts of the state for information on
the subject of weeds, it has issued bull
letins on several of the crop
troublers'' and has also included an ac-
count of some poisonous plants, mas
much as several cases OF poisoning
from cowbane have occurred during
the present year. The following are
some excerpts from the several. bull
letins that have been issued by the de-
partment dealing with this subject at
the college:
righteousness to Crops.
can enormous amount of labor is in
yolved every year in the determination
of weeds. Not only are these weeds
troublesome to cultivated agricultural
crops but they are troublesome in
meadows and pastures. The corn
fields and cultivated crops generally
must be kept clean if crop is to be
produced. OF course, the farmer
would want to till his soil whether
weeds occurred or not. A soil that is
not cultivated would not involve re-
munerative crop. But the weeds have
come to stay and the farmer must till
the soil to keep the weeds in subjec-
ton. 1t is, therefore, important that
every farmer should know something
of the best methods OF eXterminating
these weeds and thus make it possible
to produce larger and better crops.
Duration of Weeds.
"The seeds of annual weeds germi-
pate in the spring, produce flowers
and seeds the same season, and this
ends their existence. Foxtail, rag
weed and smartweed are Illustrations.
These produce an abundance of seed.
The annual class varies greatly;
some of the ANNALS approach the BIZ
ennials, and are known as winter an
nuals. Seeds of these terminate in
the fall, produce a good growth of
radical leaves, live through the Win
ter, and, if the season happens to be
favorable one, may grow during
mild weather; on the appearance of
warm weather in the spring, these
plants grow rapidly, soon flower and
produce seed, and then die. Prickly
-,
noxiors weeds, belong to the class of
winter ANNALS. The ANIMALS differ
in regard to their pertinacity Shep-
herds purse is easily subdued; crab
grass is not so easily destroyed, since
It strikes root SO easily at the nodes;
1oXtails are easily subdueG as individ-
uals, but the chief difficulty is that
these plants seed so abundantly that
io1c Of
large number of which are ready to
take the place of those that have been
destroyed. Some of these winter an
cut off above the surface of the
ground, send up number of branch
es; these flower in a short time, and
where there was only a single stalk
before there may be dozen now.
Biennial Weeds.
"These are not conspicuous in corn
fields for the reason that the young
plants are destroyed in cultivation. BIZ
ennial plants produce only vegetative
organs the first season; in many OF
these a rosette OF leaves spreads over
the ground; the second season a flow
er stem is thrown up. This bears flow
ers and seeds. AS an illustration, we
have bull thistle. Mullen, burdock,
parsnip and carrot are other illustra-
lions. The biennial weeds are con-
spicuous examples in fields that are
poorly plowed. These are likely to
crop out in fields where the plan is
adopted to run through the cultivator.
Biennial weeds will not appear where
the ground is properly plowed. Never
theless, these weeds may appear on
the borders of the field and in fence
corners. We have here a most con-
spicuous example in the bull thistle.
Perennial Weeds.
perennial weeds live for consider
able time The plant produces under
ground stems, which sends up stalks
and in turn produce flower and seed
When cut off, new Towering stems are
produced The weeds Of this class can
not be removed by simply cutting off
the stems below the ground. AS an
Illustration of this class, morning glory,
milkweed and horse nettle may be cit
ed, These weeds do not depend for
their existence on seed production, as
is evidenced by horseradish, which
has continued to propagate in this
country without seeds. Other weeds
of this class are largely extended by
their root propagation. Indeed, as a
genera! thing, many of the most trou-
blesome weeds are not so seed produc-
tive.
A Poisonous Weed.
''The question of weeds being poison
GUS to live stock is one that is of con-
siderable interest to stockmen. The
losses in the aggregate in various Sec
tons of the country amount to very
considerable. However. it is only oc-
casionally in this state that numbers
of animals are killed by eating poison
GUS plants. But aside from the inter-
est to stockmen the subject is of more
than passing interest to physicians
4 and people generally. A few, weeks
ago there appeared the announcement
of the death Of two children in Glen
wood who had eaten some poisonous
weed and shortly afterward four other
eases in other parts of the state were
reported.
The eIenwood Case.
1.-THE press dispatches nj few dnvs ooo