Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1911-02-24

rootstock with one of these joints on
1t will produce a new plant, although
1t may not be over one-half inch long.
The whole plant grows rapidly and
ripens its seed usually In July and
where growing in meadows. may be
gathered in the hay, from whence 1t
] gets into the manure to be scattered
broadcast over the farm.
III growing in grain It will be har
vested and threshed with the grain.
and II the grain Is not graded with
extreme care some of the quack grass
Will be sown on the fields the next
year.
Canada Thistle a Menace.
Like Quack grass the Canada this
tie is perennial plant In height it
ranges from one to three feet, de-
! pending on conditions. The Canada
thistle has no rootstocks like the
Quack grass. but is possessed of true
roots, the parts OF which are capable
! or producing plants When undisturbed
by cultivation the roots are apt to lie
near the surface, but go deeper In
cultivated soil and where it is par
tlcuiarIy loose and porous may be
found at depth of three feet.
Canada thistles seldom bear seed in
neids that are cultivated annually,
but In those fields that are seeded
down to clover or grasses
Methods of Weed Eradication.
Many methods have been devised
and advocated for the eradication of
| Quack grass and Canada thistles. The
success of any method depends very
| largely upon soil and weather condi-
tons and method which has proven
entirely successful under one set of
conditions has frequently failed when
used under somewhat different condi-
tons. Quack grass is more persis-
tent and more difficult to eradicate
than the Canada thistle, hence any
! method which will eradicate Quack
| grass will surely destroy Canada this
| ties.
This method can be used successful
ly except on wet or extremely porous
soils. No crop can be grown during
the year in which this treatment is
O~AA9 6Ah OA' ~ SOlo10lS VI DlOWluE
deep enough to reach the horizontal
roots, four times in a dry season.
and oftener IL the season Is wet. In
fact, blowing may proftably be begun
as soon as crop Is removed the
preceding year.
In the intervals between plowings
the ground should be cultivated often
enough to prevent all leaf growth.
The spring tooth harrow makes an
excellent tool for this purpose, but
any exposure of the roots to the hot
winds and glaring sunshine of sum.
mer rapidly kills them
This following method is more GER
tain to result in complete eradication
than any other which has been tried
1t gets rid of the weeds with one
years work. The thorough cultiva-
ton of the soil leaves it in splendid
| condition, so that much larger crop
| can be obtained the following year
than would have been possible had
the weeds remained, and the field will
continue to bear good crops after the
weeds are eliminated
Where the Quack grass or thistles
are to be removed while a crop is be-
ing raised, blowing should begin in
the summer or autumn as soon as
the former crop is removed. the ear
lier the better. This should be fol-
lowed by careful cultivation until the
ground freezes up. The next spring
blowing should be done as soon as
soil conditions permit and be con-
tinued at intervals of four week until
the first of July.
Between the plowings thorough cul-
tivation should be practised. On the
date mentioned the seed bed should
be carefully prepared and the land
sown to millet or buckwheat at the
rate of three pecks per acre In either
case. The previous treatment will
have so weakened the weeds that the
millet or buckwheat gets well estab-
lished before the weeds recover suf1-
GENTLY to begin growth Both of
these crops grow rapidly and provide
| a dense shade underneath which the
weeds cannot survive.
Spraying to Kill Wild Mustard
The eradication of farm weeds by
spraying with weed killing solutions
has been the subject of special inves-
legations by the Wisconsin expert
ment station for several years. Elk
periments with the iron sulphate solu-
ton were begun in 1906 and success
full results were secured In the eradi-
cation of wild mustard and in the par.
| tial control of other weed pests.
The iron sulphate solution is pre-.
pared by mixing 100 pounds of granu.
lated iron sulphate with so gallons of
water and stirring thoroughly. This
solution is sufficient to treat one acre
of land infested with wild mustard.
A specially adapted sprayer is neces-