Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1907-12-12
A New Chemical
Weed DESTROYER

Weed Destroyer.
A method of destroying weeds in
standing grain by spraying with
iron sulfate is now being used with
success in Wisconsin. The chem
ical is PARTICULARLY destructive to
wild mustard one of the greatest
pests in the Western grain fields,
while it is harmless to the grain
itself, or even beneficial to it, as
some maintain. In The Technical
World, Chicago, May Wood-Simons
writes of this solution of a long
standing problem. We read:
1T is estimated that weeds cut
down the yield of grain in this
country at least twenty per cent.
Under these conditions argicul-
7 turists have for several years oc-
cupicd themselves in the attempt
used for spraying grain fields. To
make it a success it is necessary
that the chemical should destroy the
weeds, but leave the cereals un-
injured. Numerous methods of
determination have been tried and
abandoned because they were inef-
fective, injured the grain crop,
poisoned stock, or were too cxpen-
sivc.
From this it is evident that
any means that can be found to
destroy these pests will mean one
of the greatest discoveries for agri-
culture that have ever been made.
No mechanical invention in farm
machinery will compare with it
in Importance.
st can now be said with GER
tainty that such discovery has
been made. The first successful ex-
periments were attempted in June,
1906. by the Agricultural College
of the University of Wisconsin.
The work has been carried on un-
Moore.
The experiments carried on
consist in spraying the field with
a ten per cent solution of iron
sulfate. The idea of controlling
wild mustard by this method was
conceived last year at the univer-
sity exper iment station. The work
was based on information derived
from Germc NJ, where experiments
had been tried en- mustard Plans
were Laid to make tests on the un-
ivcrsity farm as soon as the wild
mustard appeared. No machines
for the purpose is made in this
country. A spraycr costing $135
was imported from Germany. The
tests on the university farm were
entirely successful. Professor
Moore then experimental on other
Wisconsin farms, in Dane, Kcnasha
and Waukcsha counties and at
Lynn, Lyons County, MIN. AS
far as known these are the only ex-
pcrimcnts that have yet been made
in this county, and in every case
there is evidence that the weeds
have been annihilatcd, while there
has been no pcrccptiblc injury to
the grain. The grains that have
been tested are oats, barley, wheat
and spclt. No tests have been
made on rye in the United States,
but Professor Staglich has had sue
cess in spraying rye in France.
Experiments are also being made on
Indian corn, and the results so far
have been successful. The only
effect that is seen on the grain is
the blackening of the lower and
older leaves that are doomed to
wither eventually, while the young
leaves, that bring the cereal TO
maturity, are unframed. There are
no complaints from any center OF
deterioration either in the quality
or quantity of the grain crop
SPRAYED. There has been no differ
cncc observed in thc'time of ripen-
ing. No tests have, been made in
this country on clover or grasses
but experiments made in Scotland
show that in no case was damage
done to the young clover or grass,
while the mustard was entirely de-