The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1914-09-01
METHODS OF ERADICATING
The Wild onion

Washington, d. c., Aug. 31-The
wild onion, or garlic, which causes an
annual money loss to farmers of mil
lions of dollars year can be eradi- |
Gated by careful methods of cultiva-
tion, according to Farmers Bulletin
No. 610, of the Department of Agricul-
ture, shortly to be issued. The void
onion is the worst weed pest in a large
part of the territory in the Atlantic
coast region from Massachusetts, to
Georgia, and as far inland as Missouri.
II not only gives milk disagreeable
odor and flavor, but when the onion
bulblets get in wheat they give the
flour made from it e pronounced gar
licky odor and taste.
On Boards of Trade, wheat contain
ing garlic bulblets in considerable
quantity is graded rejected" and is
then sold only on sample. Such grain
Is generally sold at price ranging
from 20 to so per cent lower than No.
2 Red. Millers often refuse to handle
onion infested wheat, as the bulblets
gum the rollers and add greatly to the
cost of grinding.
In the case of harvested wheat, the
bulblets become lighter and are more
easily famed out in from six months
to year after harvest Where 1t Is
not practicable to hold the crop that
long, the infested grain may be arti-
ficially dried in an ordinary grain
drier, after which the bulblets may
be readily removed by good cleaning
machinery.
How to Get Rid of the Wild
Onion Pest
The measures recommended for the
eradication of the wild onion, or gar
lie, pest are based on the growing hab-
it's of this plant. 1t rlpens in June or
July, when 1t has stem one and a
half to three and half feet tall, on
the top of which are found clusters
OF the aerial bulblets, incorrectly
called seeds. The plant seldom pro-
duces true seeds. 1t multiplies by
forming 2 to 6 new bulblets, which
start to grow after the leaves and stem
die. These bulblets consist generally
| of large bulb with thin skin and
samller ones with hard, brown shell.
The solt shell bulb terminates in the
summer or early fall, and the hard
shell bulbs do not start growth until
q considerably later date. few start
| in the late fall, but most of them re-
| main dormant until the following
spring, or even later. Inasmuch as
the plants from the soft shelled bulbs
advance far enough to produce new
bulbs before all the hard shelled bulbs
have terminated, there is an overlap
ping of generations, which is the Sc
cret of the remarkable persistence OF
this weed.
To kill the wild onion, the worl,
must be started in the fall to destroy
the plants from the soft shelled bulbs
before they produce new bulbs. The
best time Is when the new plants are
12 to Is inches high, or during Octo
ber and November in the South ant
November and December in the North
At this stage the land should bt
plowed fairly deep, turning under al
the onion tops. The tops should bC
completely buried by the plowlng, ant
for this reason, plow with a jointe
attached to the beam will often be 1
great help Disling the land previous
to plowing will also aid in burying thu
tops. The following spring the fell
should be planted in cultivated crop
corn in check rows being best. An
other shallow plowlng may be neces
sary in the spring, but ordinarily
dislling or two previous to planting
the effort should be to kill the oniol
plants that spring up and the easies
: way TO do this is to cut off the tops
= Cultivators of the sweep type are tn
best. On many OF tne ihouerh cuiI
, yators, sweeps nine to eighteen incl
t es wide may be quickly attached Il
: place of the shovels, Some soils, o
course, are too stony or otherwise III
suitable for the use of sweeps.
From the time the farmer is abb
to get on the land in the spring unit
the corn is laid by, he should direc
his efforts towards preventing tn
, onion from making top growth, wit
: the idea of killing the plants that com
|. up from the hard shell bulbs If thi
:, is well done, most of the onions wi
e, disappear by the end of summer. Som
of the hard shell bulbs, however, ma
delay termination for year or tive
/. so that by fall few plants may agai
be in evidence. The farmer therefore
l. should be prepared to follow the sam
: plan of deep lowing late in the fal
! succeeded by q carefully cultivate