Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1912-08-06
The Endless War With Weeds.

The Endless War With Weeds.
THREE GENERAL GLASSES, AND THE
MOST EFFECTIVE METHOD OF DEAL
ING WITH EACH.
j. q. McKenney-Corinth, Ont, Can
ada, In Tribune Farmer:
How to get rid OF weeds is one OF the
big questions. They are positive men.
ace to successful farming, offensive to
the eye, and degrading to the taste.
Most varieties bsing possessed OF strong
roots and vigorous constit utions, are
able to gather nourishment from the soil
more readily than many Of the more de-
sirable species c; vegitation. For In
stance, ton of dried pigweed (Amare-
antus retroflexus) contains as much
phosphoric acid, twice as much nitro
gen and nearly five times as much potash
as a ton of ordinary manure. Lawes
found chat $50 to 270 pounds Of water
are transpired for each pound of in
crease of dry matter. These pernicious
characteristics demand proper system
of eradication; hence careful study OF
the habits and growth of weeds, their
mode of distribution, etc., is of prime
Importance.
HOW WEEDS ARE INTRODUCED AND
| SPREAD.
| The worst of American weeds are
largely of foreign origin, perhaps not
one in twenty being native plants. Those
indigenous to country are not usually
troublesome until introduced elsewhere;
thus 1t naturally follows that they must
be provided with some means OF trans
portation. This is accomplished In two
ways. First, by natural agencies, as
wind, water, birds. etc., and second, by
human OF artificial means, as feedstuffs,
seed grain, manure, implements, thrash
ing machines, etc. Doubtless one OF the
most prolific sources of weed dissemi-
nation Is the buying and sowing of i'm.
pure grass seed. This fact will be more
forcibly realized If the prolificacy of a
few weed seeds is fully understood. A
common thistle head may contain three
hundred seeds, each producing q plant
with $4,000 seeds. Shepherd spurse, false
fax, wormseed, mustard and curled
dock averages from twenty thousand to
forty thousand seeds to a plant.
Our experiment stations have during
the last few years analyze numerous
samples of commercial clover and grass
seeds, which are found to contain a large
percentage of these varieties, together
with Others equally undesirable. In one
case sample of red clover contained
over $4,000 weed seeds to the pound
alsike, $4,000, and timothy, $4,000.
Alarming as this may be, much can be
done toward solving the weed problem
by preventing their propagation. Care
full screening and the sowing of only
seed obtained from localities with a
minimum of these pests would aid very
materially in keeping them under con-
troll.
ANNUAL WEEDS.
In eradicating weeds it is we'll to con-
slider them as ANNALS, biennials and
perennials, because in most instances the
treatment is simple and upon general
principles. ANIMALS are those plants
that complete their growth and ripen
seeds in one season, as wild mustard,
purslane and ragweed; also those known
as winter ANNALS, of which cookie and
pigweed are examples, produce certain
growth before winter and complete their
development the following spring. If
ANNALS are prevented from seeding they
will soon die out entirely. Clean cul-
ture Is therefore essential to success. 1t
kills growing weeds, and by causing
seeds to germinate hastens their destruc-
ton. Unfortunately many seeds are in
cased in an oily covering that enables
them to resist decay. Wild mustard and
wild oats have been known to possess
vitality after having lain In the ground
for twenty years. When brought to the
surface they spring into life, and may be
exterminated by cultivation whenever
they appear.
Biennials require two years to COM
plete their growth. Most of them have
long tap roots, in which during the irst
year the plants store up supply OF
nourisbment in the form of starch which
| is utilized the second year in producing
seeds, as burdock, blue weed and wild
carrot. Like ANNALS, they are only pro-
ductive from the seed, hence should not
be allowed to mature. They are seldom
seen in cultivated fields, but are very
common In fence corners and waste
lands, where 1t is impracticable to use
the plough. II plants Of this class are
cut off even with the ground they will
stool out and prove pore troublesome
than before, but cutting two or three
inches below the crown with sharp
spade or spud will always be found
effective.
PERENNIALs.
Perennials continue to grow and produce
seed indefinitely. They are of two classes
those that produce themselves from
the seed only, such as oxeye daisy, dan
delion and yarrow, and creeping peren-
malls, which are reproductive either from
the seeds or by means of creeping root
stalks that run along beneath the surface
and are supplied with numerous buds
from each OF which springs up new
plant. They are by far the most trouble
some of all weeds, and require very
thorough treatment. Representatives are
Canada thistles, bindwood and couch
grass. Land infested with these should
not be worked during wet weather, al
4 Wherever tuo TOUIo oEo ohu'ooo SPASS'
is started and the labor involved serves
only to increase the difficulty. Shallo v
cultivation is Imperative, as these weeds
are surface feeders and deep plough'pe
transplants them beyond reach. As
general rule the land is best cleared by
putting in some hoed crop, but occasion
ally on badly infested areas bare fallow
will prove the most profitable method
Some perennials may be killed on small
patches by pasturing with sheep or Gov
ering thickly with straw, and as nc
flo wering plant can live without leaves
any means of preventing their growth
will literally starve the roots to death.
ROTATION TO REDUCE WEEDS.
Proper rotation of crops is a valuable
means of killing weeds. For instance
meadows and pastures encourage th'
growth of curled dock, oxeye daisy ant
plantain; fall wheat and rye are congen
| ial to cookie, pigeon weed and chess, ant
spring grains to mustard, wild oats ane
foxtail. Keeping this fact in mind u
will be seen that the remedy sought may
be found in q rearrangement OF crops
such as sowing spring grain on lands 10
tested with weeds common to fall grains
and vice versa. In the fret case tn
cultivation required in preparing tn
land for the crop will destroy any weed
that had started to grow the prevl0u