Elko independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1915-current, 1917-05-22

onion-free grain. In the case of tn,
dairyman the loss is due to the dis
agreeable favor in milk from cow:
which have recently eaten the weed
/ This trouble is most in evidence IL
the spring of the year. especially In
the Middle Atlantic States. Ere
Quently the onion flavor is so pro
nounced that milk dealers refuse to
accept the milk. and. il the dairy
man is selling direct TO the consumer
many of his customers are likely to
object so strongly TO the milk that
| there is a considerable loss of trade.
The most practical means OF avoid
ing this. say specialists in the United
States department of agriculture. is
TO drive the cows from oDion-infested
pastures several hours before milking
time. Experiments conducted on one
of the government farms indicate that
IL n period of about four hours
elapses between the eating of the wild
onions and milking time the onion
flavor is so faint that it is practically
imperceptible. The time required,
however, for the unpleasant odor and
taste TO disappear depends upon the
amount of onion that the COW has
eaten II more than u pound of onion
tops is consumed by any of the cows,
four hours may not be long enough to
rid the milk of the objectionab Bile con.
dition.
For this reason the dairyman should
endeavor to eradicate the pest per-
manently. This, however, requires
time unless the onions are so few
that the individual plants may be de-
stroyed with a mattock. In the ma
jority of cases eradication involves
blowing the land late in the fall and
seeding II the following spring to
some cultivated crop, cotton and corn
being perhaps the best suited for the
purpose. The cultivation of the crop
keeps down the onion growth for that
year and when thoroughly carried
out results in the final destruction of
the plants.
This long process of eradication is
due to the fact that in the case of the
wild onion there is an overlapping OF
generations. In midsummer, when the
plants mature, each has at is base
large soft-shelled bulb and several
hard-shelled ones. The soft-shelled
bulbs terminate in the fall and in the
following spring the new plant has
begun to form new bulblets. On the
other hand, the hard-shelled bulbs re-
main dormant until the following
spring. Flowing in the fall burries the
plants that have come up from the
soft-shelled bulblets before they have
begun to produce other young bulbs.
The dormant hard.shelled bulbs, how
ever, are not destroyed by the plow-
ing and, if left alone, will produce
new plants in the spring. The growth
of the plant scan best be kept under
by the cultivation of some crop on
the land. The civilizations should be
made with a view of keeping down
top growth of the onion at all times.
An ordinary cultivator, to which
sweeps or weed knives are attached.
is well suited for the purpose, since
it cuts the onion stems off below
the surface. The sweeps vary in
length from 6 to Is inches and may
be fitted to any of the modern cult,
yators In place of the shovel. In
the majority Of cases thorough cult.
walton OF this kind will kill off all
the weeds. II they appear again in
the fall, however, the process out
lined must be repeated.
Detailed information in regard &c
the eradication of the wild onion oil
| garlic from fields or pastures may be
found in Farmers Bulletins COS ant
Go, which can be obtained free by
writing to the department of agricul
turc, Washington. ID. c. The depart
ment has also worked out method
of separating on a commercial scale
the onion bulblets from wheat, which
will be of interest to millmen.