Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1922-08-18
Fight Against NOxiOuS
Weeds Must Continue
CONSTITUTE BIG MENACE TO
THE PRODUCTIVE VALUE OF
MANY PARTS OF STATE

One of the most annoying problems
of the farmers in the counties Of
Northern Wisconsin is to prevent the
infestation by noxious weeds of their
newly cleared farms. Quack grass
and Canada thistles infest the old log
ging roads and campsites brought in
through hay and other feeds in the
old numbering days. Many of these
have grown up to brush. Forest fires
have burned over them leaving fallen
trees and rubbish on the ground
Among the brush, fallen trees, and
stumps. Canada thistles and Quack
grass flourish.
To completely get rid of them under
such conditions is impossible. To
even prevent them from going to seed
is an almost insurmountable task
There are not enough settlers in some
communities to cut all the weeds, if
they did nothing else. Yet the State
law requires these noxious weeds be
prevented from going to eed or
spreading to adjoining property.
What shall be done about it?
In the first place every possible
effort must be made to keep these
weeds from spreading to improved
land If there are weed patches close
to cleared lands they should be cut
when in bloom. This will keep them
from bearing seed because it will then
be too late for them to reach the seed
ing stage a second time that season
Canada thistles in particular should
be kept from going to seed as the
seeds are carried to adjoining property
by the wind How rapidly they may
spread is shown by statements Of
farmers in one of our northeastern
counties where at farmers meeting
a number of men said they could re-
member a time when Canada thistles
were not one tenth as thick as they
are now The majority Of these men
had not been farming for themselves
more than twenty years. If in that
county they had increased ten times
in twenty years what will happen in
the next twenty years unless every
possible effort is made to keep them
under control
The farmers in this northeastern
countv had no brushpiles, growing
I'll usf8 fallen c1ees to make the
work of destruction difficult yet see
how the thistles spread! On some
farms they are taking possession of
the soil and farmers are nearly ready
to give up in despair Do we want
this to happen in northern Wisconsin?
If not now is the time to act. It will
not do to put off action. Neglect
caused the present situation in east
ern and northeastern Wisconsin?
Il must not be allowed to do the same
here. Why should a settler spend the
best part of a life time to carve a
farm out of the wilderness only to
have noxious weeds take possession of
it, cut off his income and eventually
force him to leave he fam upon which
his hopes for the future prosperity of
himself and his children have been
built? We hear it SO often these days
that some folks are tired of hearing
it, that in any community or state the
of all the citizens depends
on the prosperity Of the farmers
Sneer. at or grow tired of this state
ment as we may that does not change
the situation and the statement is as
true now as on the first day it was
made. Hence every citizen Of the
must interest himself in
some of the best dairy counties of Wis
consin not only hundreds but thous
ands of acres are producing nothing
but Canada thistles and Wild Mustard.
Every acre of land which does not
grow a useful crop is liability rather
than an asset to the State and com
munity. The farmers of these north
ern counties must get busy "A stitch
in time saves nine was never truer
than when applied to the destruction
Of Quack. Thistles and other noxious
weeds.
Let's all work together for noxious
weed-free northern Wisconsin.