Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-12-18

How to Get the Largest Re-
turns from Your Land.
The Weed Problem.

PROBABLY the average IdrifleF IallS 10
realize the loss, from a money stand
point which he suffers each year
through the presence of weeds on his
farm. If he fully realized it there
would be fewer weedy farms. He
would devote himself to a campaign
against the noXious weeds that are
present in every community. Weeds
are not a necessary evil. They can be
controlled and eradicated, and they
will be whenever the farmers of a COM
munity appreciate what a costly lux
ury they are. Farmers may fail to
realize that weeds are harming them,
or even that they are abundant on the
farm when, as matter Of fact, they
may be the single item that changes
profit to loss on their ledger
The farmer is injured by their pres
ence in three distinct and important
ways. Weed seed in small grain low
ers the grade. widens the discount re-
ceived under the market price, and Of
ten Injuries it for milling OF feeding
purposes.
The growing crop is damaged by
overcrowding and sufiocation. Plants
require room and light. and the space
occupied by worthless vegetation
weeds--reduces by just that much the
number of crop plants which can find a
perfect existence upon a given area CT
grounda Take wheat as an example.
The size and value of the crop depends
largely upon the manner in which the
plant stools. Ii will not stool properly
IL soWn too thick. Instead it will grow
a single weak and Spindling plant. The
result is the same if weeds-any Vege-
tation other than the CROP plant in II
field may J." called Weeds-come up
with the wheat. The weeds prevent
stoolng, and we nave a spindling wheat
plant and a useless mass of other vege-
tation. II you want to see what this
means in an extreme case examine =
wheat field next spring thar is infested
with yellow mustard. This form of
damage cannot he measured accurately,
but is far greater than is commonly
realized.
In the third place, weeds rob the soil
of plant food and moisture. The great
er part of plant food is in the upper
six or eight inches of the soil. This
food is not available for crop growth
until it is dissolved in soil water All
growing plants take up this moisture
and most weeds in the farming dis
triCts have enormous capacity or mois-
ture extraction When weeds absorb
this soil water. in which the val
liable plant food is found, it ma
turaIly follows that the crop plants
will starye to whatever extent
their food supply has been an
tnl .,-;.
bors. There may be an ample supply
of food in the soil but 20 be of value it
must be in shape to be utilized. 1t
cannot be unless it is dissolved in wa
ter. To the extent that weeds use this
moisture they prevent desirable plants
from growing as rapidly as they should.
Many of the worst weeds are shallow
rooters, and. therefore. get most OF their
moisture from the top soil. Under or
binary conditions vigorous plant must
take up several hundred pounds Of wa
ter through its roots to form a single
pound of dry matter. Only two weeds
to even a square foot of surface soil
will use up an enormous quantity of
water in a month. What this means,
especially in a dry season, is readily
apparent.
The first thing for the farmer is to
know the weeds by sight, their names.
their habits. and the best method of
getting rid of them. AS a rule, ten or
a dozen varieties will cover the
list of the most difficult ana in
furious in any locality. The farm
err does not need be trained
botanist to compass all this. In every
state there are experiment stations,
maintained largely by farmers boxes,
from which all necessary Information
may be secured. The land owner can
readily determine which weeds are his