The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1914-05-14
OF SALT
FOR DANDEL|0N
How to Kun Weed That Ruins Ap-
pearance Of Lawns

Washington. II. c.. May 1.-THE
best way To Kill individual dandelion
plants is 10 cut or their tops and put
a pinch Of salt tabOut "A thimblefuD on
the surface Of eacn exposed root. This
will kin most of them. As salt IL
generally applied. ruins soil the salt
should be used sparingly ana applied
only to the root-tops Of the dandelion.
The l.. :. department of agriculture
has for some time been testing vari-
Gus poisons To discover the most eff
cient means of Graduating this trou-
blcsome weed from lawns. but al
though others have been found salts
factory. the common salt is best for
general use as there is no danger ac-
companying its application.
The departments specialists say
that much effort Is wasted in merely
cutting off the dandelion top without
applying some poison To the root that
remains. The dandelion has tap
root that grows deep into the soil and
cutting off the plant merely encourage
es the dandelion To come up in n
thicker growth.
Remove Dandeion Before Il Goes to
Seed.
The time to eradicate dandelions is
in the spring before the plant has had
time To form seed. The seed spreads
rapidly, blown by the wind. The
blossoms should be close mown be-
fore they have gone to seed and salt
should then be applied To each root.
A man may be very dilgent i'm caring
for his own lawn and yet have seeds
blown in from neighboring lawns.
This is of sue importance to those
desiring fine lawns, that it might be
made matter for community action.
If the lawn Is very fun of this weed
each plant by the salt process. In
this case two possible methods of !
eradication may be recommended. The
first method is To thicken the stand
of grass To tend to crowd out the dan
delion. The grass should be put into
a vigorous condition by top dressing
with well -rotted manure or fertilizer
in the fall, and by reseeding i'm thin
places. The second method, advised |
in extreme instances is 20 start all
over again. Pillow up the lawn first
Cor spade il up If the area is smalD. |
4 generous amount of well-rotted ma |
nure should then be worked into the
soil, but not fresh manure for that is |
full Of weed seeds ready To terminate. !
In case manure is not available com
mercia fertilizers may be used. Many |
lawn soils are i'm need of lime and it |
is often a wise plan To use it, especial |
ly If white clover is Ia he sown. After |
blowing. the land should he narrowed |
or rakcd frequently to reduce II To a |
good seed bed condition. This will !
encourage the early termination of |
weed seeds with the subsequent eX-
termination of the seedlings. Thor
ough cultivation at this period will |
destroy the dandelion plants. both |
those that come from roots and seeds. |
After following either of the two |
plans sketched here, the lawn should |
be maintained i'm good condition by |
careful moving. rolling and watering |
Spraying with iron sulphate solu-
ton To kill dandelions without killing |
the grass is not recommended by the |
department, although it has been tried |
by some who consider il successful. |
Experiments do not seem to establish |
It as q practical method
How to Get Rid Of Plantains.
Another weed that Injuries the beau
ty of many lawns is the plantain, Of |
which there are two varieties; the
buckhorn, or rib grass; and the COM
mon, or broad leaf.
The same methods that apply to
graduating the dandelion apply to the
plantain except the method of poison
ing the individual plant. Instead of
cutting off the top and sprinkling the
root with salt as is done in the case OF
the dandelion, the individual plantain |
may best be removed by pulling up
by the root after a heavy rain when
the ground is wet. The plantan does
not offer difficult problem as the
roots are pulled up readily, even from
clay soil, after heavy rain.