The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1913-11-18
WEEDS ON DRY FARMS
Abundance Of Noxious lntruders
Throughout West.
Harmful Plants Are Usually More
Hardy Than Cultivated Ones and
More Successful In Struggle
for Water and Food.

When a dry farm In nrst taken up
or purchased every effort IL made tn
get II into n good state OF cultivation
Just as soon RS possible. All the
farmers energies are used in getting
II cleared and broken and started TO
raising crops. Little thought Is given
TO the permanent welfare Of the field
In the rush TO start the land produc.
Ing. This often leads TO slipshod
methods Of farming which are likely
to be continued later even after the
breaking stage is over
One OF the disastrous results of
these methods Is the growth Of weeds,
the presence OF which in any large
quantity makes dry-farming sure TO
fail. In passing over the great dry.
farming areas OF the entire west one
cannot help but be impressed 10y the
abundance of these noxious intruders.
They are found everywhere. True,
there are farms here and there that
are free from weeds, but the great
majority OF the fields are literally In.
tested around the borders and on the
uncropped pieces, as we'll as in the
crops themselves.
The weedy borders furnish n per.
ennial source Of seed to keep the en-.
tire farm foul. II Is very much easier
to get rid Of the few weeds mex TO
the fence before they go to seed than
to have to combat during the next sea.
son the millions OF young plants re.
sulting from these prolific mothers.
The old saying that Il stitch in time
saves nine might be paraphrased 10
read "a weed In time saves n thou.
sand"
IL Is absolutely useless to pretend
to summer fallow II a crop OF weeds
Is allowed to grow. Tho object OF
cropping only during alternate years
Is to allow the moisture of two sea.
sons 20 b. urcd in producing a single
crop. II weeds grow during the year
when there is no crop the moisture is
used up just as completely as II a
crop OF wheat were raised. SO. even
II these weeds are not allowed TO 70
to seed. they do harm by robbing the
soil OF It's much needed moisture.
Even more serious than the above
is the growth of weeds In the crop IL.
self. They are usually more hardy
than the cultivated plants. and are
more successful in the competition for
water and plant food. The yield is
not only reduced but the quality OF
the crop is impaired, since hhe weeds
interfere with harvesting and their
seeds lower the market value OF grain.
There are a number OF weeds that
are especially troublesome on the dry
farm. and these should be carefully
guarded against in order not to allow
them TO get n start. Among the worst
OF these are the Russian thistle and
the tumbling mustard. Both of these
produce thousands 81 seeds to each
plant and these seeds may be scat.
tered over a large area, due to the
fact that when the plants are ripe
they 80 tumbling over the fields with
the wind scattering their seeds all
along the way. A yellow row of bios.
sOming mustard n half mile long was
once seer stretching across n field OF
grain, marking the path Of n single
plant on It's journey OF seed disper.
sion. The next year the field was a
solid mustard patch.
In regions infested by Russian
thistles it only takes "A year or two
of neglect for them to get complete
control.
There Is no single thing to do to
get rid OF all weeds. Each kind has
its " weak point where II can be
best attacked, The general rule. how.
ever, is to XIII all weeds when they
are young; better. just after they
have terminated.