Show THE FARMERS WORST FOE no better evidence could be given of the serious importance of the russian thistle as an agricultural scourge than the attempt that bas bae been made by bills introduced in congress to invoke i the arm of the national government against the imported peat various kinds of thistles whistles es canadian and others have flourished in times past without exciting congressional oratory and even the ever present and persistent sunflower has not been dignified with so much notice indeed as a general thing weeds of all rinds kinds have been deemed a subject for individual study toll and warfare not one which should be manipulated and contested with funds from the government treasury the gravity of danger that is threatened from this new foe will therefore be appreciated precia ted when it is remembered that propositions have been made in all seriousness that the work of battling with resisting and eradicating the invader be done under the govern ment supervision and at government expense we believe the russian thistle has not net yet been able to cross the rocky bocky mountains though it hag bag already reached their eastern base and has been detected near denver it js Is only with in the last three years that the weed has been heard beard of to any extent in the united states the first complaints having been received by the depart ment of agriculture at washington in the fall of 1891 the dry season of 1893 gave it unusual development and farmers became thoroughly alarmed at the situation it made its appearance in the wheat raising region of the northwest a few years ago and its worst ravages are still confined to those sections but as the damage already done by it is estimated at several millions of dollars and as the thistle to is rapidly spreading over new territory and being more destructive in the region already infested the subject cannot be without interest to au riot of our hitherto exempt region for a great deal of 0 valuable information concerning the habits and the proposed remedies for the thistle we are indebted to a late report prepared by the division of botany of the department of agriculture and submitted by the assistant secretary to the house of representatives committee on agriculture the plant I 1 is an annual one easily killed at any time during the growing season it produces no seed before the middle of august or first of september and the seed is short lived it would therefore seem to offer exceptionally good opportunity for being checked or even exterminated permitted to scatter its seed however it spreads with extraordinary rapidity far exceeding in this respect any wised weed known in americk america A single plant of average size of two to three feet in diameter and weighing two to four pounds when dry bears about to seeds plants have been found six feet in diameter and estimated to bear seeds the report maintains that the most active mode of distribution of the russian thistle and the one furnished by nature is the wind and flaxseed flax seed continues to be in the absence of good fanning mills the chief artificial agent of distribution railroads Kail roads forma form a third and most important means of trane por tation for the seeds geode over long distances there Is food evidence that the railroads have carried them to io the bedding of stock oars cars these cars are sent to the stock yards at indianapolis Chic chicago sYrO and sioux city and unloaded but they are seldom cleaned until they are again sent out and have reached their destination to be reloaded the naming of these railway centers for cattle shipment immediate ly suggests inquiry as to tue cue sec eions ot of most grievously affected and the report on this part of the subject to is significant as it is alarming A t the present time all the counties of south dakota east of the i missouri river and twenty cUu 0 tries of north dakota are infested with the weed and the plants have crossed to the west side of the missouri river in at least four places in those states two counties in western minnesota three in northwestern iowa and four in northeastern nebraska are thoroughly impregnated with the weed altogether this makes one almost contil continuous su area of about square miles which has become more or less covered with the russian thistle in a campara lively brief period of years there are ar besides many isolated localities along the railroads aa far east as madison Madl sun wib west to denver colo and south to the southern aou thern border of nebraska where the plants have been introduced coming to the discussion of a remedy the report points out that while as an above stated the plant is annual and the seed short lived and that the conquest of the enemy should therefore be comparatively easy it is essential that any measure to be effective must invoke concerted action through out oat all the infested area sheep are very tory fond of the russian thistle until it becomes too coarse and weedy by pasturing ou on the young plants they may be kept down and the 0 ly known quality of the plant utilized all the vow edies given the report sansare says say sare are directed to destroy the plants before they produce seed and these are the only rem remedies edless so far as known which are am effectual of which there should tw be any need except care in clean ins inn seed aeed it has been teJ that each farmer whose land la in not fenced make a temporary fence by planting a double row of sunflowers sun flowers about his farm each season the cost would be light and aad the fence thus made would doubtless aid very much in the fight unless the sunflowers sun flowers so abundantly produced should become troublesome weeds the building of wire fences to stop the rolling plants is a remedy strongly advocated by some under lunder no condition whatever should abe cheaper grade of seeds be sown without cleaning re there to is much more in the report that is worthy of study and remembrance but experiments and exavir examinations a are continually going 7 on and the importance of the subject gives promise that later information will be imparted in the ibe near future |