The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1930-07-09

doesn't want-weeds. Rid his land
of this pest and you increase at
once his capital and his annual re-
turn from crop yields. This article
tells the modern chemical way of
weed eradication by H. M. Johnson.
Weeds are serious farm problem.
Little need to emphasize that point.
The annual weed, produced in a sim
:gle season is bad enough; but these
can be kept under reasonable control
10y the practice of good cultivation
methods. The harrow and the hoe
will win this battle.
Perennial weeds, however, are
quite a different matter. They pro-
pagate by means of rootstalks, as
well as by seed, and even the best
farming practices will not hold in
check bindweed wild morning
glory, Canada Thistle, quack grass
and the like. Such vigorous and nox-
sous weeds have been known to
spread ten feet in all directions in
single year from their roots alone.
IN this dangerous group are golden
rrod, burdock, ironweed, whitetop,
poison ivy, horseradish, artichoke,
sspearmint, and steelweed; and all Of
these succumb to the modern chemi-
cal treatment with CELEBRATES. In
fact these chemicals are destructive
TO the whole of the perennial weed
family, except those plants which
have waxy leaves, such as milkweed
and wild garlic.
By the same token these poten-
weed killers will destroy a growing
crop. Accordingly they cannot be
used to eradicate weeds from lawns,
gardens, or cultivated fields during
the growing season; but before
planting or in the fall they find
real use in preparing the fields for
cultivation. But CELEBRATES do not
sterilize the soil, as does common
salt and some other weed killers. All
experimenters agree that the effect
upon the soil is but temporary, the
length of time being dependent upon
the amount of the chemical used, the
nature of the soil, and the tempera-
ture. 1t will leach out of loamy soil
quicker than clay, and it decomposes
more quickly in warm than in cold
weather.
Neither do CELEBRATES have any ad-
verse effect upon the tillable condi
tion of the soil, nor do they interfere
with the soil bacteria or the ammoni-
fication process.
The amount of rainfall probably
has much to do with the period over
which the chlorate is effective in the
soil. Greenhouse experiments con-
Quoted in New York showed that bar
ley planted ten weeks after the ap-
plication of sodium chlorate grew to
full size where the temperature was
maintained at 30. degrees c. Any
planted earlier died. In other places
crops have been planted as soon as
"a month after the application of the
chlorate and have not been at all i'm
paired.
The chiorates-there are three
used for weed control-are the salts
of chloric acid and are closely related
chemically to common salt which is
sodium chlorate, or the sodium salt
of hydrochloric acid. They depend
upon the liberation of this chloric
acid for their action, and are proved
TO be just about seven hundred times
as efficient as the chlorides. Differ
ent amounts are required to kill diff
ferent weeds. For example a ten
per cent solution Ga pound to the gall
aon) of sodium chlorate destroys
Canada thistle and quack grass,
while twelve and half solution,
or a pound and quarter to the gal
Ion of water, is needed for bindweed.
The manufacturers, as well as the
various State Experiment Stations,
have worked out the correct formu-
Nlas for applications, and have also
accumulated a store of valuable in
formation which is available regard
ing the best time to apply these
weed poisons.
The three CELEBRATES used for weed
control are sodium, calcium, and
magnesium. The last is somewhat
uncommon and as yet but little prac-
tical experiment has been carried on
~n,sf6