Golden Valley chronicle. (Beach, Billings County, N.D.) 1905-1916, 1908-06-12
unsprayed and Sprayed Section Of
Grain Fields at Cornell University.

however, very little has been made of
general application of the method by
northwestern farmers. The most ap-
parent reason for this seems to be
lack of available machinery particu-
1arly suited to the work Each spring
the farmers become intensely inter-
ested in this method of weed de-
struction just at a time when the
work should be undertaken.
Though the North Dakota agricul-
4ural department has been advocating
spraying for the destruction of mus
tard in grain fields for a number of
years, and though the writer feels con-
fdent that this method of weed de-
struction can be made an economic
success, indeed of as great Importance
70 the grain growers as the disinfec-
ton Of seed grain for smut and other
troubles, the work lags. In other
words, the farmers do not take hold of
what appears to be a most important
discovery bearing on cereal cropping.
Many such are distributed, by wind
blown seeds and until a farming COM
munity as whole is practicing the
best methods Of weed eradication by
means of rotation, cultivation and pas
turing, 1t will be difficult for any farm
er to keep a clean farm.
The work is about in the position
that seed @disinfection work was pre-
vious to the time of the discovery of
formaldehyde: 1.-THE farmers never
took hold of the work of seed disinfec.
5 ton, even though for years it was we'll
known that smut could be prevented
by various !. simple methods Of seed
treatment and at the same time the
scrop largely increased in yield. Even
then many farmers did not make use
of, the treatment until their grain went
rejected on the market. It would
; seem, in the case of many farms in
= the Red River valley, that the weed
question has reached about this same
stage. While the grain may not be
rejected on the market, the yield and
quality is gradually being reduced by
excessive growth Of weeds until the
crops, obtained do not pay the bills
In this case, perhaps, the farmers are
not SO greatly to blame for while cul-
tivation and crop rotation methods
are sufficient for ordinary farming, in
the regions of extensive grain culture,
these means do not seem to be sufi.
cient to prevent the introduction Of
many of the worst types of weeds.
Just at this point, it may be we'll to
state that weed destruction by spray
ing methods will not result in clean
farms unless all of the other methods
Of weed fighting are practiced. How
ever, the writer believes that it is a
most efficient method for extensive ap.
plication against weeds in cereal
grain fields and that eventually it will
be found of great advantage in re.
ducing the weeds tn point when
profitable crop may be grown, to a
point at which other ordinary methods
OF weed determination can reasonably
cone into action. Where weeds are
TOO thick to pull or cut without de-
struction to the growing grain, by this
method of spraying the farmer will be
abe to reduce the number to point
at which pulling and other methods
of weed elimination can become eff
fective. 1t will also allow one to cas-
fly prevent weeds upon the roadsides
and in waste places from seed produc:
ton.
Extended experiments undertaken
by the North Dakota Agricultural de-
partment during the season of 1907
definitely satisfy the writer that field
mustard, king-head, Red river weed
and many other of the annual weeds
Of less Importance may be completely
eliminated in wheat fields without the
feast injury to the grain; while such
destructive pests as the Canada thistle
may be killed to the ground while the