£.,
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VOL. XXXI.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., JUNE 13, 1896.
NO. 24
EXPERIENCE DEPARTMENT.
Name a Pew Bad "Weeds and Tell How
You Fight Them.
2d Premlam.  Among the bad weeds we
have here are the. Iron weed, mullein,
thistle, and meadow sorrel—some call It
aUo broom  corn  and wire grass, if you
will allow me to class this with weeds.
Mullein and thistle can be treated abont
the same, aa they come up one year and
jo to seed the next.  I cut them off with
a hoe Just under the ground before they
re ln bloom which will kill the old stalk
nd prevent seeding the country.  Iron
treed and yellow dock cannot be killed
his way.  I chop them with a hoe and
prickle a little salt in the place, which
attles them.  Meadow sorrel is abont six
r eight inches high  and somewhat  re-
emblea dock.  I know of but one way to
ill lt, and  that is by covering it with
traw to a sufficient depth to smother it
.ut. I kill wire grass in the same man-
ier when it is in small patches.  If I have
lield of it I kill it by frequent plowing,
know of no better way to kill broom
age than  to   plow   it.    Burning   the
..itches in the old fields also helps to keep
t from spreading. -.       ...   A Hoosier..
Corydon. * _   .
33 Premium. Wild lettuce is one ot the
orst weeds we-have in this county*
nst how to succe»sffiiry*"fighT *ft"Jis~-r
roblem that is puzzling many farmers.
tis a very unassuming little plant at
Mt, bnt grows to Immense proportions
q a few months, and produces millions
f seeds which: are. carried by the wind
nd scattered broadcast in every direc-
ion. fsl\ kinds of stock will eat it when
oung and tender, but it is almost impos-
ible to keep it from going to seed even
the pasture fields. It comes up ln onr
eadows and wheat fields which makes
hard to fight. I intend this summer
nd fall to pasture where possible, and to
at down along fence rows and other
laces to prevent any more of it from go-
g to seed on my farm if possible. "We
ave another weed here which I think is
ailed moth mullein. It has bluish white
owers and grows two to four feet high.
t has a very disagreeable smell and stock
ill not eat it at all. It spreads slowly
at surely; it is easily pulled np and this
the best way I know of destroying it
ince using the spring tooth cultivator
re have no trouble in fighting weeds in
lultivatcd crops," but how to keep them
|at of fence rows, orchards and unculti-
>ted crops is  a  serious. question.   We
ave the different kinds of dock, thistles,
taip, wild parsnip and carrot and many
ither bad weeds to fight.   It will require
- united efforts of every farmer or land
l~~ner to successfully   fight them.    I
ould favor a stringent law compelling
~ry land owner to destroy all trouble-
me weeds found growing on his land.
I'nion Co. W. H. Lafuse.
I The best way that I know of to check
lad kill weeds is, in all onr cultivated
Tops, by the use of the  harrow  and
|onble cultivators and Breed weeders as
on as they appear above the ground,
ad keep on until they  are  subdued.   If
|>~ pasture lands are smooth  enough to
■•low the use of the mower they can be
jept free of these pests by cutting them
I' while In bloom, otherwise we will
l"ve to use the"scy the and grubbing hoe.
1°~ far~ners of Indiana will sooner or
| ler come to the conclusion that freedom
[om these pests means "Eternal Vigi-
|nce," an,j groom themselves accord-
Riy. In my opinion the only possible
IV to exterminate these weeds is by
regent legislation, rigidly enforced by
r en»ctn_ent of a law compelling every
r'son to keep these weeds in subjection
P his own premises nnder penalty of a
l-l*y fino and making it the dntybf the
township trustee to see  that this law is
ensorced.
Putnam Co. H. S. Blatchley.
fthe
As to lettuce, thistles, docks of all kinds
and golden rod, I dig and pull all of them
tbat I can find on my farm, but all of my
neighbors do not do, so, and it the seeds ot
these things did . not blow round so I
could get along. There is a large open
ditch running through my farm with the
banks, fields and roads full of snch things
above me. I tell my neighbors I do not
know how we are to get along without
some way to make them dig up their
weeds also. I have put in four days this
season, and am not done yet. Some say
there is no use of- trying. I say if they
would all go to work it wonld not be hard
to do it in a few years. As 1 pass round I
find a farmer once In a while that keeps
his farm clean, and it does look so muoh
better.   I desire to hear from others.
Hamilton Co. A Reader.
; Yellow dock, Iron weed, mullein, thistle and burdook are the worst wo have,
bnt there are lots of other bad ones also.
These are the worst: yellow dock, burdock and Iron weed; these can be cut
with a hoe just, below the. top of the
ground, but it is better to grub them out
at once. But' a few applications* of the
former method will kill them. The be#st
way to get rid of the mullein is to watch
and when t^e ground is well soaked Just
•go-ova^fJ-^TieTcrand' tfffll^tlffirTfifcy
are not hard to pull, and then they do not
bother any more. Then we are bothered
with* something that comes in patches,
some call it meadow sorrel. Where It
gets started it kills everything else out. I
don't know whether you would class
these with weeds or riot, but it' is a pest
Nothing cares to eat it It seems to be
very hardy; and can only be killed by
putting straw on thick enough to smother
it out. J. D. Jj. .
•   Harrison Co.
REVIEW.
Weeds are the farmers friend. So is
winter. Tests of drainage water from
tiles show that large amounts of nitrogen
are washed out of soil by heavy rains.
That other elements of fertility such as
potash and phosphoric acid are anchored
ln the soil by chemical union, so thatthey
are not readily washed away. About 10
pounds of nitrogen is brought down with
rain on each acre during the year and the
humus of the soil ln rotting slowly gives
up nitrogen. This precious element of
fertility gradually accnmulates in the
soil. Nature prevents its waste by keeping the ground always covered with some
growing plants. These appropriate the
nitrogen as fast as formed. Man alone
makes the costly mistake of leaving the
fields uncovered to leach and bake In the
snn and beating rain.
■ In an "early day" we had few weeds.
Nature in her farming had little use for
them. She grew grasses for her herds
and forests and Jungles which furnished
food and shelter for myriads of living
animals and always kept the soil carefully protected bv shade and mulch
Man came and swept everything away
with fire arid ax and violated nature's
most sacred principles. For a while she
seemed to stand aghast at our reckless
wastefulness, and finally as though
throngh pity she attempted to Interfere
by sowing quick growing plants everywhere. We call them weeds. Their real
mission is to conserve nitrogen and protect the naked soil. Nature has little
t-%hble with weeds. She sows seed of
more helpful plants thick enough to
crowd thom out
Did you ever notice that insect pests
flourish In dying timber or orchards.
That potato bugs are far worse on thin
places in the field and that fly and chinch
destroy the poor fields of grain and seldom tho rich places?
on poor farm and with poor farmers.'
Did you ever see wild lettuce growing
in a good sod of blue 'grass? Lets take a
look at lettuce. It is a biennial like
cockle and white top. Therefore it never
comes in spring crops and never in thick
sods, either in meadow or fence rows. It
delights in waste places, unoccupied
spots, protected by stumps, rotten fence
rows, rooted up pastures and road sides.
All weeds will occasionally intrude of
growing crops. Another vulnerable
point In lettuce Is that if plowed under it
dies. The root never sprouts like Canada
thistle or artichoke or grass. It also ripens later than wheat so that harvesting
wheat or hay destroys lt. Not so with
cockle and daisy.   They go to seed.
At institutes the question box most
always asks a remedy for wild lettuce.
From what I have written you can see Its
vulnerable points. It la 111 at home with
tbe thorough farmer who resows open
places in meadows or breaks them up
for cultivated crops and manures the
thin places. It also has little uso for the
farmer who uses a short rotation. As it
never grows In spring crops. Yon never
see it along wire fences with a good blue
grass sod.
The writer saw a field this spring where
lettuce went to seed two years ago in
great quantity. This spring that open
lield of stumpy stalk ground looked like
lt had been sowed to lettuce. .Just across
the fence was a similar .field of .stalk
grpuna^-JS^oi^Teltricesln it The latter field belonged to a sheep farmer; the
first hadn't "had a hoof on lt." - The plow
killed every one not protected by a stump
or fence row. Nature abhors a vacnum
and she will let you use the soil if youoc-
py well, but she wants it all used.
Some say legislate lt all out of the country. This might work In Germany where
a family farms from one to ten acres and
"never pretends" to allow a weed to grow.
But we are scattered too much, have too
many waste places. We must depend on
onr personal methods of farming.
The other extreme Is that some it Is no
nse to cut lettuce, thistle, etc., as the seed
blows a mile high and across a State. This
Is. true against extermination, but not
against holding in wholesome chick.
This patch of lettuce mentioned above
sowed ground vastly thicker In the first
20 rods than 100 rods away.
But lest I write too much. I will say
that the best time to kill weeds is the
year before. Bnt if seed Is once sown
then having ground fully occupMd In
perrenial crops like meadows and pastures and ln stirring the surface soil
before they see daylight in tilled crops.
Stirring J said, not cultivating, that cuts
and covers and weeds not up will come.
But stirring all the surface with a harrow will displace and kill them.
This Is one good service of Breed's
Weeder. If soil is very loose, or if firm
and torn up by a cultivator Into scales
and lumps, the weeder shakes all to
pieces, drags under any small weeds ln
sight, and makes a thorough killing as
well as a good mulch.
I must not fall to speak of mowing
weeds on young clover. Don't mow too
early; better also say not too late. Too
early, rag weeds and many kinds will
branch from stub and seed. If too late
seed will be formed in the early weeds.
If Just right you rapidly and cheaply
turn an eye-sore and nuisance Into a
beautiful landscape with a good trash
mulch. This mowing has seemed rather
expensive to me. But when the clover
Jumps ,up into a thrifty green lawn as
though thankful for fresh breath and sun
shine, with great promise of double pay
next season I never regret lt •
.■•",. E. H. Collins,
Just bo weeds revel
Florida-Letter From an Ohio Man.
Editors. Iiid-aw A Tlskis:'
Thinking perhaps that the observations
ot a Northern man relative to the Stato ot
Florida might prove interesting to the
readers of the Farmer, I shall attempt a
brief epitome of Its various features as
they appear to one who has no prejudice
in favor of any section.
I have been ln Chipley, Florida, for several weeks and contrary to flying reports
heard at home', I have found this climate
and surroundings to be the acme of excellence, decidedly superior to any I have
ever experienced before.
I had been told before coming that I
could not become acclimated at this season of the year, but conversely the
change proved exhlleratlng, and I was
at once convinced that the marked
superiority of Florida's unsurpassed water, equable temperature, refreshing gulf
breeze wero the best of reasons for leaving the fickle and insalubrious weather of
the North for a climate that In every way
conduces to the health and delight of its
citizens.
Frequently, I meet formerly Northern
people who assert that they would not
be living now, had they remained in the
Inconstant climate of the North.
Here .there are no sultry nights;
the heat:c_-__ring the day Is not more excessive' than north of the Ohio, and la
finely mitigated by/the breezes from the
gulf and ocean./
To one unaccustomed to viewing the
fine varieties of  crops Incident  to   the
South, the' fine vistas of luxnrlant  and     , ,
profitable fruit* and grains ttl^rA--^*,-*.he i__
eye, form a delootable slgjit.
Especially is thU'portion of the Stato
well adapted to thtfculture of remunerative products;and in addition to the well-
known L. it N. railroad, there Is soon expected a road running north and south.
This road has already had several thousand dollars expended upon it, and will
give this part of the State a pre-eminent
advantage over other sections by materially advancing her products which are so
numerous and easily cultured that this
favored section will soon form a nucleus
for the best region in the South. .
In making a rigid observation of resources and statistics, I find that for general profit, and for the growth of recently
suggested but paying crops, this locality
takes precedent.
Vegetation grows rapidly, but there are
no very troublesome weeds, fruit devel-
opes perfectly, and its quality takes high
rank over other fine appearing fruits.
This country considering its advantages
is destined to forge rapidly to the front
In fact the whole South has reached the
pivotal point in her history.
The great potentla lforces of education)
facilities, resources and ingenuity have
to force the flood-gates of enterprise, and
the Northern people who will grasp the
situation promptly are certain of reaping
rich returns.
The reading public see the great opportunities which the South affords, and can no
longer be Induced to grow up in tempest
swept, bug-breeding, crop-falling regions
of the West. Tbe American people are
not slow to act, and an acquaintance
with Florida's resources and facilities
alone are necessary to instigate the
greatest _ boom of ' tbis closing
century. They are such now that
he who acts quickly may soon
find himself en-ronte to prosperity, be he
rich or poor. If there were nothing else.
Florida's climate is a good capital. But
to the practical individual I say join the
procession that will soon put Florida
on her highest plane of advancement
If yon would reap the benefits, you must
decide now. Don't fear to sell at a sacrifice, and come Sonth. That sacrifice will
probably be the best business transaction *
of your lite. Good land will sell yet for a
time at from $3 to $5 per acre, and expenses are low.
I expect to make this my permanent
home, and hope to seo many of my
friends here, also. • C. L. Swaim,
V