Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 December 1902 — DESTRUCTION OF WEEDS. [ARTICLE]

DESTRUCTION OF WEEDS.

They Are Propagated Either by Boot or by Seed, Which Must Be Killed. • There are two classes of weeds — those that come from seeds and those which are propagated principally by means of their roots. Weeds which spring up from seeds can be destroyed by successively bringing the seeds in the soil to the surface, where' they germinate. The seeds of some weeds have great vitality and remain In the soil for years. Some are inclosed In clods and are retained for another season, but when the clods are broken and the weed seeds exposed to warmth near the surface, they are put out of existence by the harrow as soon as they germinate, for which reason it is impossible to clear a piece of land from weeds in a season unless every dod Is pulverized. The oft-repeated Inquiry, “Whence come the weeds?” may be answered: “From the clods,” says the Philadelphia Record. The weeds that spring from* roots are cut up, checked and prevented from growing by frequent cultivation, because they cannot exist for a great length of time unless permitted to grow. If no leaves are allowed on such plants they perish from suffocation, because they breathe through the agency of the leaves. The advantages derived by the soil In the work of weed destruction reduces the cost of warfare on the weeds, for every time the harrow or cultivator is used the manure is more intimately mixed with the soil, more clods are broken,' a greater proportion of plant food is offered to the roots, the loss of moisture Is lessened and the capacity of the plants of the crop to secure more food is increased. The cost of the destruction of weeds should not be charged to the accounts of a single year only, as thorough work during a season may obliterate tbe weeds entirely, or so reduce their number as to make the cost of their destruction during succeeding years but a trifle.