The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1922-06-21
(By r. E. Bcdley, Gallatin County
Agent.) II

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Canada thistle is probably the
worst ~preventable menace to agrlcui-
ture in the Gallatin valley today.
ANY n doubling this statement need
only take a ride through our fertile
irrigated sections and observe for
himself what the Canada thistle is
doing, observe the large acreage OF
non-productive land, made so by this
weed, and he cannot help but realize
what a serious menace it is. The
startling thing about it all IS the APP
parent Indifference displayed in the
past toward this menace by so many
of our land owners. Do we as a
people now realize the Importance OF
the problem, and are we ready TO
undertake the long, expensive job OF
checking it's further spread and ultl-
mately reducing the acreage now UNI
der its toll? It will be a long job, in
which every landowner must coop
crate and do his share. The latter
requirement is the pronounced
questionable by many with whom you
talk; they say we must enforce the
so-called weed law, and force each
land owner to take care Of his own
land. My own opinion is that to do
the job we'll Land wner in general
must be willing to do it voluntarily,
forgetting that there is such a thing
as a law, and then for the few who
are not willing to do their share, we
must perhaps have a different law
than the present one to enforce. Since
there is hardly a day in which some
one does not inquire why the county
commissioners do not enforce the law,
and since there is an apparent gen.
eral lack of knowledge as to just what
the law is it will probably not be out
of place to cite at least the essentials.
The first two sections of the present
law, in so far as lands outside the
city limits ar concrnd, RAIDS as fol-
lows
Section 1. Each of the plants
mentioned in this section is hereby
declared to be a nOXious weed and {
common nuisance. No person, co
partnership corporation or company
owning occupying or controlling lane
shall permit any Canada thistle O
quack grass to bloom thereon.
Sec. 2. For all purposes of thi
act the one-half of any road lynn
next to the lands abutting Thereof
shall be considered part Of such lant
and no person owning, occupying O
controlling land shall permit any nos
iOus weed to bloom or remain there
on or to produce seed on such Ian
or adjoining one-half of the hig'
way.
An yon can radily appreciate th'
unless land owners in general a
willing to take care of the thistl,
on their land voluntarily, we woT
get very far under the present la
In the first place, to NOW all t
thistles after the notice had be-
served, and before they went to see
it would require an army of men, a
available county funds would be c
hausted before very much Of the v
ley had received attention. Ma
other disadvantages could be cited
Believing that land owners in g
eral do realize the Importance
systematically and generally alta,
ing the Canada thistle, and that m
of them are willing to take the
voluntarily, a we not make a st
toward general eradication? NJ
erous plans have been submitted
many suggestions made, but it sex
to me that one of the most feas
ones yet submitted is in part as
lows: Request all of the canal c.
panies, through their respective pr
dents, to see to it that no thistles