Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1918-06-07

WeI-kept Roadside Where Weeds A
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: () Clean culti-
vation; (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 unharmed. 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
| 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 a cultivated crop; in
other words, by a 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
sibie; 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 plowing is best in fal
lowing for weed control, as this keeps
the mass of weed roots at or near the
surface, where they will be more eas
lily dried out by the sun. If this fal
lowing be well done, many kinds of per
ennials will have died by the close O.
| I1,,4 : IIrr o1x-fc hi 4
to plant a cultivated crop the mex
spring in order to destroy such weeds
as may persist Under this plan thu
greater part of the work of eradication
is done expeditiously by large imple
ments and without the hindrance o
cultivated crops; furthermore, it i
done at a time of the year when tn
, farmer is ordinarily not pressed witt
other work. This method is quite sue
, cessful against the weedy grasses, sucl
as Johnson grass, Bermuda grass an
, quack-graSs.
misunderstanding may often b
! found of much help in keeping dow
, the top growth of perennials. Shee
1 are of first Importance in this conneC
' ton. They will browse upon almos
r all kinds of weedy growths and fatte
under the process. In parts of th
$ West, when the pasture grasses b.
$ come brown during the summer, shee
r will turn their attention to the weeds
: which are the only green feed in sigh
=, This fact has been taken advantage c
= in killing bindweed and the small
o leaved milkweed. Goats are eve
9 more omnivorous than sheep, but th
regions where it is profitable to kee
goats are limited Hogs are of SON
value in weed eradication, becauS
n they will root for the undergroun
parts of many weeds. These anima
/. have been used to great advantage
If getting rid of bindweed, or wild morl
~ ingglory.
d Where it is feasible to confine shee
y goats or hogs to very restricted arei
for one or more seasons, they will
L. most cases completely kill perenni
a weeds Where it is not practicab
to Craze sufficiently close to entire
i destroy perennials, the grazing sti
oI greatly weakens the root system
lie these plants, making it an easy tas
So to complete the destruction by cult
- walton.
Smother Crops.-Thick stands al
vigorous growths of smother crol
may be depended on to keep down IL
- Pork on Grain Feed Alone.