Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1906-06-13
The Farmers Warfare Against Weeds.
"Thorns and thistles also shall it

Ihorns and thistles also shall it
bring forth to thee" was written ages
ago, when the first farmer first be-
gan his farming operations. The
warfare against thorns and thistles,
using this as general term to in
dicate every kind of weeds, has con-
tinucd with greater or less success,
generally less, ever since. The
farmer assumes that the land was
cursed with these pests; that there
is an inexhaustible supply of the
seeds in the soil; AMI therefore all
that he has in genera! attempted to
do has been to reduce them to the
minimum for the present year and
present crop.
Weeds have their uses. the main
one Of which is to put the farmer on
his nettle; to make him think, plan,
and work to accomplish success; and
thus develop in him a higher type
of man. The statement I'm the
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat
bread" is not curse, but really a
blessing. The nations of farmers
that have not been obliged to work
to secure results are invariably a
poor class of farmers and poor
type Of men.
In the prairie sections of the west,
where the weed curse was at its
minimum when the country was
first developed, it has been increas-
ing from year to year. In addition
to the weeds native to the soil we
have introduced by carelessness and
neglect all sorts of foreign weeds.
They travelled some from east to
west, still others from north to south,
and vice versa; and most of them
seem equally at home in the rich
corn lands OF the Mississippi valley.
Farther north outside of the corn
belt the weeds are greater curse
than in the corn belt proper, because
some of the very worst weeds seem
peculiarly adapted to that section,
and because farmers not having a
rotation including cultivated crop
allow weeds such as Canada thistles,
quack grass, and French grass to in
crease and multiply until life be-
comes burden.
Farmers seem to assume that there
is an inexhaustible supply of weed
seeds in every fertile soil, and that
therefore the most that can be done
is simply to minimize the mischief
for the present. The farmer aims
to keep the weeds out of his corn up
to the first Of July. He allows rag
weed to grow rank in his pastures,
forgetting that moving it in time
would at least prevent the more
abundant sowing Of seed.
1t is our purpose to devote con-
siderable time and space and to use
abundant Illustrations during the
next three months in order if possible
to stimulate the farmer to greater
exertion in his warfare against weeds,
and by pointing out the peculiar
habits and nature Of different weeds
show how their exterrination may
be carried on with the maximum Of
success.
There are three classes of weeds
which the farmer will do we'll to
considerable ANIMALS, biennials,
and perennials. Annual weeds,
like ragweed, cocklebur, velvet weed,
and the miscellaneous assortment
that may be found growing in every
corn field, grow each year, produce
seed, and die. Hence if they are
not permitted to go to seed the sup
ply of weed seeds, of which every
soil contains a large abundance,
will gradually be diminished. These
weeds are the easiest to kill, provided
the farmer goes at it intelligently.
In the corn and potato fields this
can be done by attacking them at
their weakest point, when they
have the first and second leaves,
which the farmer can do in any
kind of good weather with the har-
row, weeder. and cultivator.
They cannot be thus attacked in
the pasture, for obvious reasons,
but as every farmer knows, land
that is kept rich and we'll seeded
with grasses produces but a small
crop Of weeds; for the simple reason
that the weels have no chance to
grow, or, if they grow, are smother
ed out by the thick stand of grasses.
Biennial weeds are those which
grow one year and produce seed the
next, such, for example, as burdock
and many varieties of thistles. Ii
these are attacked with the mower
when they first appear in the pasture,
before they produce seed, the supply
in the soil can be very greatly dimin-
ished. With reference, however, tc
thistles, there must be cooperation
among the farmers over a large
section OF country and also in keep
ing the roadsides clean; for the
reason that no matter how clean a
farmer keeps his land from thistles
the wind will blow the seed in from
the roadsides or from the fields Of
his slovenly neighbors.
The most difficult problem in
weed destruction is presented by
perennials, such as quack grass,
Canada thistles, horse nettle, and
weeds of that class. Some of these
form underground root stocks, OF
lrhizomes, to use the language o!