Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1915-09-21
Fighting Different Weeds.

ffSntinX OitIerent weeds.
The United States Department of
Agriculture has lately sent out bulle-
tin on the control of weeds, going into
the question rather deeply, yet it does
not appear to me that the entire ground
has been covered. Weeds can be fought
by good tillage, which may be called the
direct method of making war on them,
but there are also indirect methods that
are often still more effective and which
are much less costly. In fact, the weap-
on of clean tillage is pretty hard to use
thoroughly. Let us take the bean crop,
which usually leaves the ground about
as free of foul growth as any crop, and
it will be found that there is here and
there plant of mustard, if there has
been mustard in the soil, and there will
also be other weeds left alive for late
maturing unless the greatest care is ex-
ercised. And the worst OF it is that the
farmer is so used to seeing these weeds
in his fields that he allows them to re-
main and thus beat him out of the very
thing he has undertaken.
1t is idle TO talk of attacking weeds al
ways when they are in bloom. The white
daisy, which fought all the days of my
boyhood and sometimes in maturer years,
is earlier than the grass il grows in and
if cut down in bloom the hay crop is
ruined. Fight the daisy with an i'm
provement of the soil, so that the grass
will grow up Justify and smother 1t.
There are no daisies of account in mead
ows that cut more than two tons of hay
10 the acre and none that come up to
three tons.
In other words the land must help
fight. Then the cattle can also be
brought into line. No doubt the worst
weed of late introduction is the wild car
rot. 1t is quite impossible to keep it Oh
the farm, for it travels with the wind
and comes from all directions almost
eaualing the tumble weeds of the west
ern plains. Fields are sown with il
when there is no way of resisting it. Can
we do ANYTHING to ward it off? l have
watched a certain farm some thirty
years with that very question in view
and have become convinced that we
can fight it successfully. or course the
battle is easier where community is
working together, for there is often one
farm somewhere that is left to itself and
there the weeds have an easy time of II.
IL our fields were only surrounded oy
close walls or timber growths. Even
then dandelion and thistle down ny
high.
The farm | speak of is, or was, slowly
being sown with wild carrot. The soil
is rich and easily titled, which is great
advantage. Across it there is wide
lane where cattle and horses go from
the barns to the back fields. All about
this lane the wild carrot is thriving, but
in il there is none. The animals like to
crop the grass in the lane and keep II
short. They take the carrot along with
il. They will do the same in field II
the pasturing is close. have also OBJ
served the carrot in a lawn which is
moved every week or so in season. 1t
does not get any size, but it is there yet.
| am afraid that moving alone will not
conquer it. Neither will plowipg, unless
the fields are watched and every speci-
men taken that the plow leaves.
Every farmer must make the fight &C
cording to the land he has and the weeds
that beset him. He must fight inteiii-
gently. Think of trying to eradicate the
burdock by moving it of. There are
seldom more than half dozen bad weeds
trying to get the upper hand in single
farm. Often there are only two or
three, so that the farmer can as rule
adapt his work and the handling OF his
fields to the best sort Of warfare against
them. There are no burdocks where
there are no untitled corners. There are
no spreading patches of quack grass
where the farmer understands that plow-
ing spreads them and goes in with forks
and grubs the grass out. The farm |
speak of was last year ridden OF quack
grass in Just that way, while the fields
of neighbors doubled the size OF quack
grass patches by the careless use of the
cultivator. i
The fence corner is bad source OF
weeds-such as golden rod, poison ivy,
brambles, though not often daisies nor
wild carrots, for weeds have separate
WAYS of spreading. The farmer is not
wide awake unless he has separate ways
of fighting them. Grubbing is slow. !
know of few weeds that require 1t ex-
cept quack grass, unless II be where
they are scattering and are taken up oe-
fore they are allowed to seed. Clean till
age, heavy cropping, close pasturing,
watching the corners, one thing for one,
another for another, only keep the oattle
up and let no start be gotten against
you. /
The deep-growing milk weed and Can
ada thistle are about as bad a problem
as any. They can be grub6ed out or
smothered, though they seldom are
Smother them if you can with heavy
growths Of wheat or hay and when you
blow see that none are skipped. Mus
tsrd, docks and the like can be pulled
out when not yet plenty. They can be
titled out if they are all taken. One
plant to the square rod and it is all use
less. One to the acre keeps the warfare
on. why make half fight? You can
raise something Of a crop if you share it
with the weeds. Most people do, but
what a relief to see farm that is free
of weeds There is victory and its re-
ward, not only in cash, but in other
things that 90 to make life worth the
living.-John W. Chsmberlin in Hoard's
Dairyman.