The Raymer enterprise., 1913-11-20
WEEDS ON DRY FARMS
Abundance Of Noxious Intruders
Throughout West.
Harmful Plants Are Usually Mors
Hardy Than Cultivated Ones and
More Successful In Struggle
for Water and Food.

When dry farm Is first taken up
Or purchased every effort is made to
get 1t into good state of cultivation
Just as soon as possible. All the
farmers energies are used in getting
1t 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 by 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 well as in the
crops themselves.
The weedy borders furnish per
ennial source Of seed to keep the en-.
tire farm foul. It Is very much easier
to get rid Of the few weeds next 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 stitch in time
saves nine might be paraphrased to
read "A weed In time saves thou.
sand"
1t Is absolutely useless to pretend
to summer fallow II crop OF weeds
Is allowed to grow. The object OF
cropping only during alternate years
is to allow the moisture of two sea.
sons to be used in producing 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 60
to seed, they do harm by robbing the
soil OF Its much needed moisture.
Even more serious than the above
Is the growth Of weeds in the crop It.
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 oil
the crop Is impaired, since the weeds
interfere with harvesting and theil
seeds lower the market value OF grain
There are number of weeds tha
are especially troublesome on the dr.,
farm. and these should be CAREFUL,
guarded against In order not to allow
them to get start. Among the wors
Of these are the Russian thistle ant
the tumbling mustard. Both of thes,
produce thousands Of seeds to eacl
plant and these seeds may be scat
tered over large area, due to tn,
fact that when the plants are rip'
they go tumbling over the fields Will
the wind. scattering their seeds al
along the way. A yellow row OF bios
soming mustard a half mile long wa
once seen stretching across a field O
grain, marking the path of slngl,
plant on Its journey of seed disper
sion. The next year the field was
solid mustard patch.
In regions infested by Russian
thistles II only takes a year or tw,
OF neglect for them to get complete
control.
There is no single thing to do t,
get rid Of all weeds. Each kind ha
Its own weak point where It can b
best attacked. The general rule, how
ever. is to kill all weeds when the,
are young; better. Just after the
have germinated.