Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1912-08-16
On and. About the Farm
WEED. CONTROL.

:. WEED: CONTROL. -.
There are three classessof weeds
that. contest with whatever crops
may beogrOwing in the ground during
the-sutumn mo2ths: annuals, bienni-
ais and perennials. Most Of our
weeds Ore ANIMALS, which produce
seed the same year in which they
eeminate. Biennials, for instance,
burdocks and come kinds II thistles,
produce seed the second year. Per
ennials,' such as morning glory, bind
weed. Canada thistles and quack
grass, grow mainly from the root and
soOe Of them altogether, producing
seed sparingly or net at ALL. Annu-
ais are bountifuG seed producers, this
being the. only way they can perpetu-
ate their kind. g
Cockleburs will make their appear
once In the corn fields after the
corn is laid by, and the only way to
handle them is to pull them out or
hoe them out by hand. They Will
make. their appearance in the Stub
bic fields and in new sown clover,
and the only thing to do with them.
there is to mow them off when in
full bloom and before seed has had
time to mature. The boy with a
mower can do more damage to the
cockleburs in infested fields in one
day than he can do with the corn
pillow in a week,
Then again. our fields are likely
to be overspnead with ragweed,. even
the blue grass pastures; and the on
" thing to do is to- take a mower
and NOW thsee fields before the seed
is ripe. We are quite wen aware
that the tanner has a good deal to
do at that time besides moving the
Fagweed in his blue grass pasture or
in his stubble fields. He has some
thing to do which will be Of more i'm.
mediate benefit than riding now
er. None the less, he cannot afford
to have his land seeded with rag
weed at this time Of the year.
By moving the ragweed he takes
the shade away from his blue grass
and gets more vigorous growth.
Then if he Will take his disk drill
next spring, when the frost is going
out, and reseed his blue grass land
to clover, he win not be much trou-
bled with ragweeds in time to come.
7 There are weed seeds enough in
our soils, and sometimes farmers get
discouraged and feel as though the
weed is to stay with them forever.
1t will stay with them a long time,
but there is no use in allowing weeds
to go ahead and perpetuate them
selves, to give trouble in the future.
By persistent warfare against these
ANIMALS we can have in time a reas-
onably clean farm. By neglect we
can have the farm so web stocked
with weeds that we will have trouble
for years to come. Therefore, it is
we'll TO take advantage of the weak
ness ofthe plant that is putting forth
its best energies TO produce seed,
and prevent 1t.
We have nopatience with the farm.
er who allows his stubbae fields to
grow up with cpckHeburs and other
annual weeds. We are talking now
OF THE farmer who owns his own fant
and the tenant who expects TO re-
main on the farm where he is for a
number of years. For this growth of
weeds in the stubble proclaims him
to all passerSby as a poor farmer.
Better neglect something else and in
sure yourself against an oversupply
Of weeds in years to come by exercis-
ing the boy and the team and. the
mower in preventing these annual
weeds from going to seed.-WalIace's
Farmer.