Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 October 1874 — How to Eradicate Weeds. [ARTICLE]

How to Eradicate Weeds.

How to eradicate the weeds is one of the gre;i’. problems of the farmer. On pt rniiinvnt mowing and grazing lots we are conrident the grtfat secret is to kei'p the land tree of stagnant water, and well s-iippTTUTI i. -th nutrition of higher orders of vegetation, tin tills point our obsen alien anti experience fully confirm the conclusions of that r .ge c.f agriculture, John A. Mash, whOr..->: “1. M r‘i regard to permanent mowlands. It they are properly manured and then drained in such places the need of drainage, by growing sourwater grasses and weeds, instead of the sweet :-.nd nutritious grasses, there will be no * rouble with weeds, except along the borders. “2. With pastures it is much the same.: It smooth and grassed over in al: pr. - very little attention will be wr.nte.i qo keep them free trom useless or hurtful grow ths. But if rocky and rough, dry in some parts and wet in others, considerable labor may be expended on thejn advantageously in cutting down -.mil uprooting all bushes and weeds anil ua 1:v. Auuust or Septenffter; in" draining the wet places, whenever this can be ! ne", by scooping a channel for a sliOiiUL-Utncc.' and in cleaning out such wet places as cwnnot be drained cheaply, and leav mg them to grow water-grasses, since these are better than nothing for cattle in dry times, when the sweet upland grasses are perishing by lack of moisture.” Wc nave rooted out daisies, docks, "golden-rod. thistles, and wen snapdragon from our mowing lots simply by top-dressing them in the fall and mowing them twice in the summer. The higher vegetation is as sure to triumph over the loxyer in grass lands as truth is sure to triumph over error, provided onlyit has a fair chance. Foul weeds invari'-. ably creep into a niowing lot or pasture where the' soil is exhausted of the elements of nutrition requisite far, the production of the best English grasses, and they as invariably retire when these lots are well top-dressed for a series of years. Weeds are never seen on a lawn simply_ because the lawn is kept in good "heart for thU production of fine grasses. Even though the manure with which they are dressed may contain foul seeds, the weeds get no foothold. The grass has a pre-empt ion clai m. On plowed lands the case is different, and we must confess that we have be< n put to our wits’ end to know how to get rid of the weeds in an old and rich garden. Clean cultivation during the growt h of .the: vegetables does not seem to answer the purpose. After the season for hoeing and cultivating has passe i the weeds spring up and grow’ luxurianily, and we have been compelled 4o resort to the's<‘ythe to prevent them from m - ' turing seed and multiplying themselvi s some sixty, some an hundred, and some a thousand" fold. It we can get out ti e early vegetables and plow the grour 1 and plant another crop we are all righ , but in the case of late pot aloes, onion', etc., which require the whole season for Ynaturing, the weeds have grea|tly theq 1vantageover the cultivator on rich o'. J land. ... ... s , Whenever it can be done we shou d advise to stock down the old gardm, choke out the weeds with grass, and start afresh. The garden will be all the better for the rotation and the abundance of ‘ organic matter which the grass roots supply, and the weeds will be effectually distanced. Whoever cultivates an old garden must make up his mind to wage in all-summer warfare with weeds, and

! victory can only be secured by fighting I it out on this line till frost comes to his I aid. Purslane-and chick-weed are such j creeping plants that 'even the scythe . 1 passes over them, and pulliiftr is thlonly I ' resort, afier'the lio< ; is Irttngup for fear ot j disturbing the expanding roots. On rye stubble we frequently sec tinweedsin great' abundance, If the land • is well stocked with grass seed ami is in ! good condition, these weeds will_ not make much of a show the next year, but 1 it is better to mow them and let them lie las a mulch on tl|e. "ground If. the land is not stocked it should be plowed before the weeds mature the seed-. j The great hot-beds >f weeds are the sides of fences, highways andtrailroads. ; There.they luxuriate in calm repose and ' mature their seeds,which aiv wafted by i the winds and carried by the birds to ail 1 qdow cd a nd-pt >or In nds,—We would Jik< ■ to have a law emitted compelling every Lland-owner to mow the weeds on the highway bordering his premises, and all railroad corporations to keep the sidesof their tracks free: from these pests. It is eurioustpseeiiow the seeds of thistles and ! other weeds rush after a train of cars, urged on by the wind as it hastens to fill up the temporary vacuum, and often a i side current takes them into a neighborI ing field as they arq gyrating in the rear ' jof the cars, it is a suicidal policy to let ! theseweeds by the side of fences, highways and railroads go to seed.— Alexander Hyde, in N. Timex.