The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1910-10-13
WEEDCHfCKING
How TO Prevent Their
DistributiO1.
BY v. n. DAVIS,
Assistant Professor Horticultural
Dept. o. S. u, Columbus, o.


Roots and seeds are carried in farm
machinery. The roots and under
ground stems of the Canada thistle,
horse nettle, pea viAe and all weeds
that spread from these parts ate scat
tered exclusively by the cultlvating
tools. The bulbs of wild garlic
spread very slowly until scattered by
the plow and the harrow. While the
weeds of this kind are not very like
ly to be carried off the farm by the
cultivating tools, seeds are likely to
be carried by self-binders and thresh-
ing machines that go from farm to
farm without cleaning.
BY Care in Selecting Plants and
Nursery Stock.
Seeds and bulbs are carried in plants
and nursery stock. The possibilities
of introducing bad weeds in this way
are very good. The nut grass OF
the Southwest and West came to
New Orleans from the West Indies
with garden plants and was intro
duced into Arkansas from New Or
leans with strawberry plants.
BY Burning Packing Material.
Weed seeds are often carried in
packings of various kinds. in the
packing of crockery, glassware, cast
lngs, etc, cheap hay or straw is in
variably used, and the presence OF
weed seed in 1t may be taken as
matter of course. This material
usually gains a wide distribution and
is finally thrown out into some va
cant lot or reaches the field through
stable manures. The common woolly
MULLEN probably came from France
in crockery packing.
BY Destroying Weed-Infested Hay.
Weeds are carried in hay. This offers
a most ready and dangerous means
for the dissemination of weeds. 1t
is so dangerous because IL is so hard
to control. Tradition has 1t that the
Canada thistle was first introduced
into the United States in northern
New York in hay brought over for
General Burgoyne's horses during the
Revolutionary war. Be this as II
may IL is always best TO avoid hay
from regions known to be infested
with bad weeds.
Timothy Seed.
Weed seeds are carried in CONNER
cial seeds. This affords by far the most
important means for the carrying Of
weeds from place to place. 1t is safe
to say that more weeds have come
to us through impure field and gar
den seeds than from all other sources
combined. In order to be extensively
distributed with a commercial seed,
the weed seed must be approximately
of the same size, shape, weight and
color as the former; otherwise 1t will
be separated out easily by the
modern methods of cleaning or will
be readily detected.
BY Not Using Them as Ornamental
plants.
Weeds are introduced as useful or
ornamental plants. a number of our
most troublesome weeds fall into this
category. The seed of the ox-eyed
daisy was brought to Rhode Island
In 1715 and sown for horse feed.
Wild garlic escaped from the gardens
of the early Germantown settlers,
where 1t was used as a favoring.
Purslain was cultivated for greens in
Massachusetts and was later taken
10 Michigan, where It was grown for
the same purpose. Wild carrots,
morning glory. poppy and Others have
escaped to the wild from the old
vegetable and flower gardens and in
many cases have become serious
pests.