Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-08-18
ERADICATION OF WEEDS.

1t will be of interest to almost all
people who are householders In cities
as well as in the rural districts to learn
that the dandelon, the worst weed pest
tof lawns may be held in check by
spraying with a 20 per cent solution of
iron sulfate. e. G.. Adams of the
Rhode Island Experiment Station, says:
In a lawn composed of redtop and
kentucky blue grass, the dandelion may
be practically eradicated by spraying
four or five times during the season.
The best time for spraying a lawn
which is mown once a week or once in
ten days Is about two days after now
Ing. If sprayed Immediately after the
grass is cut, the tips of the grass
leaves are slightly injured. The first
spraying In the spring. to be most eff
fective, should be made when the leaf
growth Is vigorous and the first buds
are ready to open. In the case of one
lot of plants which was not sprayed
until the seeds we're forming, only
slight injury was caused by the spray
while in an adjoining plat where the
plants had been repeatedly cut by the
1aWnnloWer, the same strength OF spray.
applied upon the same date. resulted in
the destruction of % per cent of the
only upon bright days and when the
prospects for continued fair weather are
good. Complete eradication OF the
| dandelion cannot be expected, owing to
the fact that the plant is so abundant
upon the roadsides that the lawns Will
be reseeded by the borne seeds.
| Lawns which have been badly infested
| with this plant, after being sprayed,
| should be reseeded with clean redtop
seed. otherwise there will be bare spots
| where the dandelions were killed"
| According to a bulletin mo. 1888 Just
from the press, issued by the Rhode
| Island College of Agriculture 6 Me-
| chanic Arts, a weed is "a plant out OF
place that persists In growing where it
is not wanted
/ thus the common daisy, is a most
T perricious weed Grorl this standpoint,
while from the aesthetic point of view
the daisy is an ornamental plant, which
is often grown as .an ornamental
species In border of perennials.
The losses due to weed growth are
! very great, but can scarcely be COM
puted with any approach to accuracy.
/ But it lis easy to perceive how expen-
sive weeds must be, since they reduce
| the yields of many farm crops in the
| following ways: they rob the crops of
standing-roon. light heat, moisture,and
/ plant food. 1t Is also evident that II
the largest possible yield OF any crop
| is to be obtained, the land must be fully
occupied by that plant. Therefore II
| the land is partially taken up by weed
I growth. the maximum number of crop
plants cannot be grown to maturity. In
| the case of the cereal grains and young
grass plants, much damage may be
done by the shading of the small-leaved
| plants by the Wide and coarse-growing
leaves of such plants as the mustards.
In tho same way the broad-leavetl
| plants will prevent an equal distribu-
| ton of heat. Moreover, since plants OBJ
| tain their food from solutions which
contain the clements which are neces-
| safy for growth. to obtain the required
! amount of food they are obliged to
absorb much more water than can be
/ utilized In the plant economy. This
excess is disposed of by evaporation
from the leaves. If the leaf-growth
of a crop is not normal, either on ac-
count of thick seeding or by crowding
caused by the presence of weeds, then
the amount Of water transpired Will be