Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1918-05-30

| WGH-NCpL nOdOSfQC where WGeQS
| prepared by the United States Depart
| ment of Agriculture.)
Keep down the top growth of per-
ennial weeds In order to starve out the
underground parts. This top growth
Is equivalent to the lungs of animals;
without it they cannot live. Any
methods that successfully keep down
the top growth and at the same time
suit the farmers convenience may be
used. Among the ways that may be
adopted for keeping down top growth
are the following: (1) Clean cult
walton; (2) pasturing; (3) growing
smother crops; (4) frequent cutting
with hand hoe, spud, or mower; and
! (5) smothering small patches with
| building paper or other material.
Clean Cultivation.-In most cases
cultivation will be relied upon to de-
stroy perennials. The work may be
done either with or without cult
waited crop growing on the land. Many
! farmers have eradicated perennial
weeds by giving thorough cultivation to
a crop. Cultivation is especially effec-
| tive if the crop has been planted In
checkrows, so as to permit working in
two directions. The ordinary shovel
and tooth cultvatorS permit many weed
| stems to slip through unframed. 1t is
often best, therefore, to use cultivators
| of the sweep or weed-knife type.
| These sweeps skim along under the
surface of the soil and cut off all
weed stems. On many of the modern
cultivators sweeps 9 to Is inches wide
may be attached in place of the shov-
| els.
No matter how thoroughly the tops
have been kept down during the pc
Rod of cultivation, most well-estab-
lished perennials will continue to send
up tops after cultivation stops. This
situation may be met by frequent
choppings with a hoe. Hand hoeing
in such cases is not as tedious as it
may seem, since most perennials do not
occupy the land solidly, but occur in
patches. If the top growth is thus
thoroughly kept down, one year is usu-
ally sufficient to eradicate even the
worst of our perennials. This plan is
especially effective against Canada
thistle, bull nettle and bindweed, or
wild morning-glory.
| Perennials may often be attacked
most effectively by clean cultivation
without growing cultivated crop; in
other words, by bare fallow. 1t is
seldom advisable to fallow for an en-
tire year, since this does not permit
the farmer to get any use of his land
A better plan is to use the land dur
ing the early part of the season and to
fallow it in the latter part. For in
stance, the land may be pastured until
midsummer, or crop of hay or small
grain may be taken off before starting
the fallow. This plan has the addi-
| tional advantage of starting the work
of eradication by following at a pc
riod when nearly all weeds are in their
most susceptible stage. Under this
plan the work of following should be
started as soon after harvest as pos
sible; the land should be plowed and
then narrowed or disked at frequent
intervals during the remainder of the
season to prevent top growth. Ordi-
narily shallow blowing is best In fall
lowing for weed control, as this keeps
the mass of weed roots at or near the
surface, where they will be more cas-
lily dried out by the sun. If this fall
lowing be well done. many kinds of per-
ennials will have died by the close of
the season, but it is usually advisable
to plant a cultivated crop the next
spring in order to destroy such weeds
as may persist. Under this plan the
greater part of the work of eradication
is done expeditiously by large nipple
ments and without the hjndrance of
cultivated crops; furthermore. it is
done at q time of the year when the
farmer Is ordinarily not pressed with
other work. This method Is quite sue
cessful against the weedy grasses, such
as Johnson grass, Bermuda grass and
Quack-grass.
MISUNDERSTANDING may often be
found of much help in keeping down
the top growth of perenniaIs. Sheep
are of first Importance In this connec-
ton. They will browse upon almost
all kinds of weedy growths and fatten
under the process. In parts OF the
West, when the pasture grasses be-
come brown during the summer, sheep
will turn their attention to the weeds,
which are the only green feed in sight.
This fact has been taken advantage of
in killing bindweed and the small
leaved milkweed. Goats are even
more omnivorous than sheep, but the
/ regions where it is profitable to keep
goats are limited. Hogs are of some
! value in weed eradication, because
! they will root for the underground
: parts of many weeds. These animals
have been used to great advantage In