Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1918-06-13

4 81
fNKe1aRsd BY the United States Depart
nsnt % AEricuiturel
n II u not practicable for the farm
e. 70 dispose OF his weeds when they
are snail he should make every effort
50 prevent them from going 20 seed.
II weeds are attacked when the most
advanced have just reached the full
blossom stage. they can be prevented
from seeding AZ this stage. too. the
roots are nt their weakest, especially
thozs % the ANNALS and biennlals.
witch are lAfgeiy exhausted. No
tine should be Loaf. however. IN dis.
poelnK of weeds when che fuii-blossom-
sng stage has been reached. a. seeds
VA shortly ba formed. Some weeds.
aucA Is pigweed. produce blossoms
that are very ineonspicu0us. 80 that
uAlses closely Watched they VIII 20
70 ssCd before one IL aware Of II.
village 10 Control Weeds.
While tiilaRe m its relation 70
@sads usually II p-nctseed for the
bsnant 0f the immediate crop. Il also
may serve the purpose o. preventing
hoatn ~ weeds from maturing seeds.
Thorough tlllags serves the additional
purpose Of encouraging the rapid
esEminaiion ~ weed seeds ip the soil
Wills KILLING the weed seedlings when
goanH IA no way Il the old adaga
"A stitch Ia tina saves nine" better
nssesTnted than IN killing weeds BY
gtisane aooa after they have gcrminnt.
- raisfeF Than delaying the work On.
- lfseH hasn 3sfasnsd s6sne-efxe
The thorough preparation Of the
sesdbed Cor every crop Ia nm impor.
tant part IN the control OF weeds
After blowing. nearly all farmers uae
9 dlsk or q spring tooth or Npike.tooth
harrow 20 reduce the soil 20 a
good scedbed condition. Each Of
these harrOwings destroys hosts Of
young weed seedlings. As II 10 only
the weed seeds within a few inehes
Of the surface of the coil that ger
inmate and 30 the borrowings eucOur-
aEa the rapid germlnation Of the weed
seeds, thoroughly narrowing al this PEI
Rod may be relied upon 10 XIII large
portion OF the weeds that Will appear
during the season. Ia fact, II some
times happens that the seedhed has
been 70 well prepared that after plant
ing q cultivated crop. such as corn,
cotton. or potatoes. but little cultivs-
ton 10 required.
KIN Weeds BY Dragging.
After planting the cultivated crop
the same object. that Of attacking the
weeds when young. should be kept IN
mind. To this end a drag harrow or
= apike-tooth harrow Is frequently
used. both before and after the crop
comes up. More weeds win be killed
by one dragging at this time than by
several CIVILIZATIONS when the plants
have become larger. The weeder is
also q valuable implement for use at
this stage BY removing some Of tho
teeth OF this tool II can be used In
corn until the crop IL nearly waist
high. Indeec, some excellent crops OF
corn have been grown by the use Of
the weader only. Some soils are too
stony or otherwise not suited to the
use Of this implement. but where IL
can be used the weedsr Il one OF the
most valuable tools on the farm. The
drag harrow and weeder may also be
used to advantage with potatoes, cot
ron, and other cultivated crops. After
the crops have become 30 large that
these implements can no longer be
uasd The tiilage Is performed with
euitivators. Cultivators that destroy
weeds most effectively should be used.
The best tools for this purpose vary
with the kind OF crop and the type and
condition Of the soil. 80 that II is
dfficult 20 lay down exact rules as to
the choice Of cultivators. Intercultural
tillage IL especially effective In CON
trolling weeds II the crop has been
planted In checkrows 20 as to permit
the implement to work in two direc-
lions.
II the work Of preparation and af-
tertillage has been thorough. few
weeds viii come up and go to seed
after cultivation stops. This is es-
peciaiIy true where winter cover
crop, such as wheat. crimson clover,
or vetch follows the cultivated crop.
Cultivated crops, therefore, offer
abundant opportunity to rid farm
OF weeds. II properly handled they
are rightly termed cleaning crops
On the other hand. where these crops
are NOT well cultivated. weeds are &C.
l<s.ayHv utfunrlafAd 10 Vigorous growth