VOL. LX.
INDIANAPOLIS, JULY 22, 1905.
NO. 29
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HOW TO OET RID OF NOXIOUS  WEEDS.
Cultivation is tbe Keynote.
1st l'remium.—Tliis is a big job and
one thut kIiouUI In- ki'jit np year after
year; that is, the fight against weeds. I
built a new house in n different location
nn my farm, nnd had to prepare a new
garden spot. I covered it heavily with
stable manure,  broke  it deep,  dragged  it
■•an make no in-ut-Ittd rules in regard to i lint will have inure of it Hum he who lets
Ih- time -U'tween tlieh arrowing*. Watch | them grow, l.ternal vigilance is the price
the weeds,    an.l as soon ns yon see them j of  a   dean-  farm. Vou   cannot   raise ti
well sprouted go iu with your harrow. Hut I full crop of grain and weeds at the same
•sou oannot kill weeds when it is raining. : time, and the difference in the amount of
Sunshine is nvcessnry. In lS7.ri 1 had .JO
acres ready to plant on Saturday evening,
and we were not able to get into the fields
for ten days. It rained day nti-d night
and every weed seed tlint was near enongh
the surface had its green head out You
ask, what did 1 do?      Why, we went into
grciin raised on clean land will more than
pay for the extra cultivation, besides the
satisfaction- of having a clean farm.
Now 1 have not gout- into details of
rpccial remedies for particular weeds, for
I consider cultivation the best and cheapest   way   to  extinguish   weeds. Sprout
ie* our meadows. Some go in the meadows with a hoe and cut the young st.ilks
t<. the ground when they arc ipiite young.
If white top is once cut it does not come
again that season, and seldom comes the
next season-. In our pastures is win re
the thistle and iron weeds flourish. They
can Im conquered if they are cut u.nvn
every August and if sheep are on the pastille. Sheep are the best friends the
fanners have to help keep the troublesome   weeds   out.    Tliev   will   e-tit   almost
Scene on a Sheep Hancli in Western Canada.
•aown smooth, then harrowed ami cultivated it nntil I had 4 inches of fine, mellow soil. I allowed three or four days
between each working, so that tlie weed
seed might sprout and then be destroyed.
The work consisted of eight or ten times
going over it, which destroyed all tho
weed seed in* that depth. Then I went
into it again with my breaking plow, turned this down, bringing up four inches
more. This givs?s eight inehes. Then
I repeated the work, dragging, harrowing, cultivating and rolling. Then I
had eight inches of good mellow soil, with
few: weed seed in it, and if tliere are a
few weed seed below this depth I assure
you they will not come to the surface
until you raise them. Now recollect I
have not planted anything in this garden-
yet. Bupt I sowed it to turnips the
latter part of July, and I had turnips
to oat, turnips to sell ami turnips
to give away; and no weeds. And my
garden* wns in fine condition to plant and
cultivate next spring, and I liad few-
weeds to fight.
In field cultivation for corn and potatoes, break your ground early enough so
that you can drag, harrow and roll it, if
needed, three or four times before planting. I prefer dragging first, to fill all
cavities. Oned ragging and one harrowing does lietter work than two harr-owings.
If the ground is dry, use the drag close
after the breaking plow. If not, wait a
day or two and let the weeds germinate,
and the sun will soon kill them.        We
it milk double cultivators, am] thoroughly plowed it, from three to four inches deep, cutting all the surface. Then
put the harrow on- it, and -followed with
the planter, and we were far ahead of
our neighbors that planted without cultivating. My experience is that I can kill
more weed in one day before planting
than in three after planting.
Now another very important thing to
lcok well after is to prevent weeds from
going   tn   seed   about   the   f.inn. You
should cut them before the seed is ripe
enough to germinate, and to accomplish
this you may have to cut them two or
three times. In the fields you can  cut
with your mower.
He sure that you cut the weeds in your
stubble   fields. It   will   not  hurt,  your
ycung clover if you do clip the tops. I.ct
me say again, do not let the seed get ripe
enough to grow*.
I found tbat I could keep the iron
weeds well in check, by cutting them
when in full bloom. If you will cut the
burdock an inch or two below the crowrr,
jr.st as or before it comes into bloom, it
rarely starts again. If you have neglected some docks or other weeds until
the seed are mature enough to grow, take
your wagon and scythe hook, mattock, for
or anything you need arrd cut and load into your wagon and haul them to where
you can burn them. It has been said,
by the sweat of your face you shall eat
yonr bread. The fanner that fights
weeds to n  success will earn his bread,
the seed and then kill them in their infancy.
tiet rid of the weeds along the highway and elsewhere, and help your neighbor get rid of his, for they will be wafted
by the breeze to your fann. I/ook out
for weed seed in your grain and in grass
seed, for he who sowcth weed seed his
reward shall Ik- tribulation an.l decrease
iu the value of the crops. Let no weeds
ripen seed. Destroy what seed there is
in the ground by cultivation. You will
receive  your  reward  in  increased  crops.
-Marion Co. I. N. C.
The Sheep is a Weed Killer.
2d Premium.- Of noxious weeds the
most troublesome on our farm are thistle, meadow king, white top, ragweed,
iion weed and wild onion, or garlic. In
tlie garden the weeds may be conquered
by   constant   cultivation. This   hinders
their growth    and prevents    them    from
I making reed to grow weeds the next season.      If it is impossible to cultivate all
I parts of the garden, the woods should
be tut lieforc the seeds mature. In the
fields they get a better chance to grow,
especially in the stabile fields and meadows. In the stubble fields the mowing
machine should be used in the latter part
of summer. This not only prevents the
si ids from maturing and setting the
ground for another year, Imt it protects
the young clover and grass, and makes
cleaner bay the year following.
White top is the most troublesome  weed
e\cry weed that .-rows, and eat it so .' .se
to the gtound that there is little cliaiue
for it 1 •> get a start again.
Hut of all weeds the viild onion, ur garlic may be placed nt the top of the iist of
the most troublesome, as it multiplies so
rapidly and is such an cbomination, especially if \ou are pasturing milk cows where
they grow.
Cows will eat those onions, even if they
have plenty of good grass to oat. They
seem to like the taste of them. TY» onions make tlieir appearance two or three
tini-s in il e sensor., if il is dry, and in a
season as wet as this cne has been they
are present most all the time, growing
stems with sets ou top to scatter and
make thousands more onions for tlie next
year. I have tried cultivation for these
pests, but it only seems to benefit them,
as tiny talc a new Mart and grow the
hardier and the ground is full of sets or
seeds that come up thick as hair on a
slog's bae!:. The only way I havo con-
ouered them is to dig them up and bum*
them, and not allow one to mako scc-i.
This is nn awful task as the onions have
such a disagreeable task, bnt it is better
than to liave the cows eat them and ruin
the taste of milk and butter. If any of
the readers of the Farmer have found an
easier successful way of destroying these
v* ceds, I would be glad to know how it is
done. A Reader.
Continued on page eight.