Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1918-06-04

WeIl-kepf Roadside Where Weeds
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: CD 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 perenn!als The work may be
done either with or without a cult
waited crop growing on the land. Many
farmers hare eradicated perennial
weeds by giviag thorough cultivation 10
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 to IS inches wide
may be attached in place of the SHOW
els.
No matter how thoroughly the tops
have been kept down during the pc
riod 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, ny 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 a 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 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
10 plant 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 imple-
mentS and without the hindrance of
cultivated crops furthermore, it is
done at a 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 perennials. 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
getting rid of bindweed, or wild morn
ing glory.
Where 1t is feasible to confine sheep,
goats or hogs to very restricted areas
for one or more seasons. they will in
most cases completely kill perennial
weeds. Where it is not practicable
TO Craze sufficiently close to entirely
destroy perennials, the grazing still
greatly weakens the root system of
these plants, making it an easy task
TO complete the destruction by culti-
walton.
Smother Crops.-Thick stands and
vigorous growths of smother crops
may be depended on 10 keep down the
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