American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1917-10-09
WHEAT FIELD WITHOUT A WEED.
Spring Seeding Preceded by Good Gull
tiyatiOn C~Onvinces Crystal Farmer

Three quarters of a mile northwest
of Crystal F. c. Reiger owns and farms
200 acres, embracing the original
homestead of a quarter section filed on
by2 Ns. Reiger in 1910. and a leased
tract of 40 acres, part of the home
stead of David c. Handy. Mr.. Reiger
also has a homestead of a quarter sec
ton, filed on in March, 1916, located
three miles north of the Clifton creek
ranch, making a total of $50 acres.
OF the Clifton creek ranch about $50
acEa1are in cultivation and the leased
4O-acre tract is all in cultivation.
Wheat is the principal crop, this year
80 acres being in Bluestem. Fifteen
acres are in alfalfa, and the balance
of the land is in fallOw. This ranch
has always been a good wheat produc-
er, in 1915 yielding 1000 bushels of
Fife from 35 acres, and in the follow
ing year a fairly good volunteer crop
was raised on the same field. Owing
to the encroachment Of weeds the
growing of winter wheat has been dis
continued-the owner believing that
the way to quickly get rid of the weeds
is to practice spring blowing and
spring seeding for several years. He
has tried it and the fact that he has
a big field of wheat without a weed in
it is sufficient proof that the theory
will work out. OF course, some of the
ground must be plowed in the fall ow-
ing to the short season up Crystal
way, but the harrow, disc and weeder
will be used unsparingly in the spring
and the ground thoroughly worked
over. To accomplish the eradication
of weeds in this manner all farmers
must work together. Until the spring
of 1915 Mr.. Reiger's ranch was free of
weeds; then came a dose OF weed
seeds from some of the neglected
ranches in the valley and Mr.. Reiger's
ranch could no longer claim the dis
tinction of being free of weeds. 1t is
a sad fact that when a ranch is abon-
doned and given over to the growing
of weeds the neighboring farmer who
tries his. very best to keep his ranch
free vf~fhe pests sees all his work I'M
done and his crops injured to the value
of hundreds of dollars; it is also a
fact that the injured farmer at pres
ent has no recourse whatever against
the offender. The application of the
new weed law to such cases is fer
vently looked forward to and it is
earnestly hoped that it will provide
the remedy so sOrely needed for the
evil.
Mr.. Reiger's ranch is a dry farm
tract, with the exception of the alfal-
ia fields. This years stand of wheat
will yield we'll above the average of
an adverse year, due to the methods OF
the rancher in pratcicing deep blowing
and using the harrow and disc with
out stint. The soil is the Characters
tic black mountain loan of the Crys-
tai country and with proper ways OF
c%ultivating the soil holds an excess of
moisture at any and all times. So
we'll does the owner of this ranch con-
slider the wheat market prospects OF
the future that next spring will see
almost the entire quarter section as
well as the 40-acre tract of leased
land in Bluestem wheat. On the home
stead in the hills three miles to the
north the clearing of quaker aspen
and ss6er growths is progressing and
in the spring the breaking of land will
begin. Hay growing will be the main
thing on the upper ranch, the inten-
ton being to give rye hay a trial. AL
though the W ranches are only three
miles apart, the difference in the sea
son owing to the SHOWS holding on
late in the spring on the upper ranch
amounts to fully a month. Mr.. Reiger
stated that the drifts hung on until
well in July last summer. He relates
that during the deep SHOWS last win
ter he cut some quaker aspen up there
for poles and thought that he was cut
ting them pretty well down to Mother
Earth. but the stumps standing there
now show that he cut them ten feet
from the ground. Any person doubt.
ing this can take a tape line, climb VI
to the homestead and be assured OIL
the truth of this statment.