River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1916-06-08

ngnt overhead, ny up INTO the cone
and work their way through the small
opening into the barrel. They can
then be scalded."
ranges from one to three feet, depend
ing on conditions. Unlike Quack grass
it has no rootstocks, but is possessed
of true roots, the parts of which are
capable of producing plants. When
undisturbed by cultivation, the roots
are apt to lie near the surface, but
go deeper in cultivated soils and where
it is particularly loose and porous
may be found at a depth of three feet.
Canada thistles seldom bear seed
in fields that are cultivated annually,
but in those that are seeded down to
clover or grasses, the seed is often pro
duced abundantly the year after seed
ing. The increase of these pests, how
ever, is due largely to the roots which
spread out rapidly in all directions
and are transplanted in widely dis
tant portions of the farm by the plow,
drag, and cuItivator.
Eradication Means Work.
Many methods have been devised
and advocated for the eradication Of
quack grass and Canada thistles. The
success of any method depends very
largely upon soil and weather condi-
tons and a method which has proven
entirely successful under one set Of
conditions has frequently failed when
used under somewhat different condi-
tiOns. Quack grass is more persistent
and more difficult to eradicate than
the Canada thistle, hence any method
which will eradicate the former will
surely destroy the latter
Cultivate and FaIIow One Year.
This method can be used success
fully except on wet or extremely por-
Gus soils. No crop can be grown dur
ing the year in which this treatment
is being given. 1t consists of plow-
ing deep enough to reach the horizon
tai roots, four times in a dry season,
and oftener if the season is wet In
fact, plowing may proftably be begun
as soon as crop is removed the pre-
ceding year.
In the intervals between plowings
the ground should be cultivated often
enough to prevent all leaf growth. The
spring tooth harrow makes an excel
lent tool for this purpose, but any ex-
posture OF the roots to the hot winds
and glazing sunshine Of summer rap
idly kills them.
This following method is more GER
tain to result in complete eradication
than any other which has been tried.
1t gets rid Of the weeds with one
years work. The thorough cultivation
of the soil leaves it in splendid condi-
ton, SO that much larger crop can
be obtained the following year than
would have been possible had the
weeds remained, and the field will con
tinue to bear good crops after the
weeds are eliminated.
Can Use a Cultivated Crop.
Where Quack grass or thistles are
to be removed while a crop is being
raised blowing should begin in the
summer or autumn as soon as the
former crop is removed, the earlier the
better. This should be followed by
careful cultivation until the ground
freezes up. The next spring blowing
should be done as soon as soil condi
tons permit and be continued at inter
walls of four weeks until the first OF
July
Between the plowings thorough cul
tivation should be practiced. On the
date mentioned the seed bed should
be carefully prepared and the land
sown to millet or buckwheat at the
rate of three pecks to the acre. The
previous treatment will have SO weak
ened the weeds that the millet or
buckwheat gets well established be-
fore the weeds recover sufficiently to
begin growth. Both of theee crops
grow rapidly and provide a dense
shade underneath which the weeds
cannot thrive.
This method is almost sure death
to Canada thistles, but often fails with
quack grass and must be adopted ad-
visedly. II followed by blowing again
in the fall after the crop is removed
and by thorough cultivation the sue
ceeding spring, all weeds would ur-
doubleday be killed. The advantage
OF this method over the first lies in
the fact that it allows the production
of crop during the process of weed
eradication. Its disadvantage is that
1t is not so certain 90 be successful