Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1917-06-07
LANdD0N, NORTH DAKOFA. THURSDAY. JUNE, l9
WEED COMMISSIONERS
HOLD MASS Meeting
Newly Appointed Officials Plan Out.
Line for Warfare Tending to
Weed determination

The weed commissioners, appoint
ed to act in 1917 in the various town.
ships Of the county, met Thursday,
I May 31st. Practically every town
ship in the county was represented
Land in many cases the commissioner
Twas accompanied by one or more of
TIE township board. or by farmers
1 who were especially interested in the
\ weed problem. The meeting was
!. called to order at eleven o'clock in the
morning, which session consisted of a
discussion of the Canadian thistle and
4 Quack grass eradication and control.
In the afternoon the session opened
with continuation of the discussion
on quack grass determination and was
followed by general discussion led
by Mr.. Kristjansen of the SOW thistle
menace and how it could best be con-
I trolled and eventually eradicated.
H County Attorney Crimson then was
called upon to outline the weed law as
it now stands and to discuss the prop.
er procedure for the weed commission.
ers to take in the enforcement of the
law. Mr.. Crimson cleared up many
hazy points with reference to the law
and endeavored to show that actual
enforcement by legal procedure of the
provisions of the weed law would
probably not be necessary except in
very rare cases. Several of the weed
commissioners and farmers present
Il struck the keynote to the situation
when they said that there was not a
farmer in the county. if approached in
a reasonable manner in regard to now
ing the bad patches of Sow thistle
and Quack grass on their farms, who
would not be glad to comply with the
law if they knew that the law was
being uniformly enforced in like man.
ner all over the county. An abstract
of the law, literature on weed eradi-
! eaton and Identification, and blanks
for she performance of their duty was
passed out at the close of the session.
MIR. Haw and Mr.. Kristjansen hac
t collected boxes of Sow thistle and
Y Quack grass and all the other common
t weeds which might be confused with
them, these were taken as they were
2 found growing in the field and were
2 on exhibition in the court room. Ev
: erybody went away feeling sure they
could tell western wheat grass from
Quack grass and that they had {
speaking acquaintance with Sou this
8 tie in case they had not been intro
. duced before.
8 After the sessions at the court house
, the crowd was loaded into autoes ant
were taken out in the country to view
a these weeds growing under field condi
r tions and to further explain the char.
3 acteristics of their under-groun,
stem system, that the weed commits
0 soner, when called upon to identif.
these weeds, could do so withou
danger of mistake.
y The interest manifest at this gath
: ering and as indicated by the presence
from every township in the county
s shows that the people of this count.
L are awake to the seriousness of thi
5 weed problem and also goes to prov
4 that concerted action on the part o
3 every farmer in combating, especial
2 ly the Sow thistle meance, is nov
Z actually fact.
1t is to be hoped that sentiment ha
) now reached a place where a reason
2 able and equitable enforcement of tn
weed law will meet with co-operatio
3 and not antagonism on the part of tn
land owners of this county.