The Logan Republican. [volume] (Logan, Utah) 1902-1924, 1915-01-05

WEEDS,
WEEDS
BY President J. II. Worst, Of the
North Dakota Agricultural
College

Weeds are plants growing in the
wrong place. They are in the physi
| cal world what many contend that
| sin is in the moral world. And yet
there seems to be q mission for both
, weeds and sin, else wise and bene-
ficent Creator would not have per-
mitted their existence. Doubtless
both exist for the value one receives
financially and spiritually on account
Of the effort necessary to destroy
them.
Weeds evidently should be destroy
ed. The process Of destroying the
weeds not only improves the soil on
account Of the cultivation required to
kill them, but the planning necessary
to out general an assortment Of
weeds improves the mind. Victory
over weedy farm, like any other vic.
tory, Is celebrating.
The fact Is quite apparent to thou
sands of wide awake farmers that
they must either conquer the weeds
or be conquered by them. A farmer
cannot succeed so well at weed Grad
ication when working alone, however
Industrious and Jealous he may be,
for the reason that birds and spring
winds are great distributors of weed
seeds. The man with the dirty farm
not only suffers on account of their
presence, but he makes endless trou-
BILE for his neighbors as well.
For this reason cooperation Is nee
essary, even to the enactment and
enforcement of most stringent laws
against allowing weeds to flourish
and go to seed on private lands.
Public lands are more easily CONTROL.
ed. The cost of DISCRIMINATING weeds
on lands not farmed but held by
nonresidents for speculative purpos'
es, can readily be taxed against the
land, while weeds growing along the
highways should be destroyed by the
ONGISttls "SCuo o'o'
! elsewhere, as on the cultivated lands,
the problem Is one which resident
| farmers must work out for them
| selves or suffer the consequence
That many are now suffering fright
, full losses on account Of wild oats and
other noxious weeds, there can be
| no question. A conservative eleva'
tor man, taking into consideration
the condition of grain as 1t was mar
keted. estimates that not less than
| II, O0O, 900 bushels Of dockage mostly
wild oats, represented the amount OF
dirt and weed seeds that were ship
ped out Of the state last season.
When one considers the extra labor
Irvine, cutting, hauling, thrashing
and freight bills that must be charg'
ed up thus to the presence Of weeds
the damage they accomplish Is start
ling, to say the least.
Nor is this all. The principal
damage they do, in a country not ov'
er supplied with moisture, is the
drought conditions which they cause
Weeds being gross feeders not only
rob the grain which they infest, Of
plant food but of moisture.
This latter fact is most important
since the average precipitation in the
state Just about squares with the de
mands Of the average crop. When
therefore, any considerable amount
OF moisture is wasted, either on &C
count Of unnecessary evaporation OF
the presence of weeds In large guam
titles, the crops are bound to suffer
Any system OF farm management
therefore, that tends to eliminate
weeds also tends to conserve mois
ture. Moreover, IL cultivated crop
such as corn or potatoes, Is made
regular factor in the rotation, ant
the area thus devoted to a cultivated
crop Is large enough to cover the en-
tire farm, about once every five year
the weeds may be held In check cV
en- though not entirely eradicated.
The general dockage last seasol
was, according to careful observer
about six pounds per bushel, thong
many instances OF twelve. sixteen an
even as high as twenty six pound
per bushel we're reported. My hf
ures are based on the valcl'at'on
made by a man operating elevator
| and whose knowledge of the cond
ton OF grain throughout the stat
) was extensive.
An evil OF such magnitude Is nc
to be lightly considered. The ks
! farmers sustain is too great, and tn
! further fact that the weeds in"reas
in geometrical ratio, calls for q ron