| Show l V j t W W es t ern r We Veed ed Pests Pest S for forBY October Observations October and November BY J H PAUL DIRECTOR OF NATURE STUDY IN THE STATE NORMAL To teach in the schools something of ot the life lite histories of weedy plants is as necessary to a practical education in inthis inthis this country as to teach the beauty of the rose and carnation for aesthetic Culture and artistic discrimination One advantage of making a school study of weeds especially in early au autumn autumn autumn Is that the laboratory material for this purpose may be had for noth nothing nothIng ing in abundance and usually in bet better better better ter condition than the material of ot any collections preserved indoors The outdoors laboratory is superior for tor the purposes of ot nature work to any other supplies that mere money and effort tan cat 81 procure T go g gc out ut anC an use this material so freely proffered by nature herself herse is ismore Ismore ismore more conducive to the health and good spirits of both teachers and pupils than to remain always Indoors during the fine autumn weather The time that some fancy is lost in making trips afield is really gained through the zest which they impart to school lessons Value of Weed Method In examining weeds we feel free to tomake tomake make use of an abundance of material and to dissect and destroy it not only contain seeds and may travel hundreds of miles it should be burned in the fall faU before it gets a chance to usurp the soil for It almost dispossesses dispossesses dispossesses the farmer himself The Tho plant was first brought from Russia Russin to South Dakota In 1873 and has now filled tilled nearly a dozen states inflicting vast va t damage upon agriculture Now that it has taken hold In II h Utah there is only one safe sate and rational thing to do doto to kill It out at tt once by burning the ma mature mature mature ture plants and by pulling up the young ones In the spring Study this plant in the eighth grade also any of the grasses tumbleweeds and poisonous plants In the weed list to be given later Of Public Moment The Russian thistle threatens to give the people of ot our state the same labor and expense eX ense that it has occasioned in i other states unless its rapid encroach encroachments encroachments encroachments ments upon the dry dr land shall be bo checked by the prompt action of state county and city authorities We Ve have too recently had an experience with a vegetable pest the June Jun Grass to t relish a similar one with the Russian weed June grass has lit literally literally literally covered many of our mountain I L e c V T dV V Vi i 1 N z zI 1 Tt y I r 1 1 t J ii S v s 9 Drawn from nature for this article by eighth grade pupils of the training school TOP BRANCHES OF WEED SUBJECTS FOR OBSERVATION IN GRADES GRADE 8 1 The sunflower Helianthus 2 The violet purple fall aster Aster Fremont 3 The paie purple fall aster Aster 4 The gum plant or arnica squar rosa rasa 5 The cocklebur 6 The burdock lappa 7 The iva or marsh elder Iva lva 8 The or ragweed Ambrosia 9 The rabbit brush Drawn from nature by pupils of the Training School without compunction but even with a certain satisfaction induced by the feeling that we are contributing there thereby thereby thereby by towards lessening the evil of ot weed pests Moreover weeds present lessons of perseverance and adaptability to cir circumstances circumstances circumstances which the cultivated species species species cies do not so frequently or so obvious obviously ly h afford Finally weeds are the most constant of civilized mans companions follow following followIng following ing him everywhere and patiently en enduring enduring enduring during neglect aversion and all sorts of ill III usage and warfare without show showIng showing showing Ing the least sign of ot discouragement Since therefore we cannot avoid we I would better make use of these per persistent followers It might be claimed that it is not the toe best of pedagogy to consider tho the weeds needs They are arc mere obstacles and their study Is IB in one sense negative while an axiom of ot the modern modem school Is that the eternal do shall displace the everlasting dont dout in the training of the child But the study of weeds is a continual doing it is finding ob observing observing observing serving comparing classifying exter exterminating ex r Often unique u and highly or organized or organized organized for special purposes especial especially ly for survival of the th perpetuation of the species many of their forms are tre really beautiful b and some have a his historic historic historic significance Assignment to Grades What specimens this work shall include will depend upon the locality At least five different weed pests should be studied In the seventh to the eighth and from two to four In the fourth fifth and sixth Something of the method will appear from the following examples amplest e I IThe The grasses the poisons and andall all ll specimens spec specimens specImens with minute greenish Incon Inconspicuous inconspicuous flowers chiefly the amaranths docks and tumbleweeds tum tumbleweeds tumbleweeds are assigned to the eighth grade the to the seventh grade the irregular flowers to the sixth the regular flowers In fives to the fifth and the flowers In fours to the fourth grade The Russian Thistle The Russian thistle kall kali bids fair to become one of the worst of our weeds It thrives on dry lands and may take entire possession of the soil soli At first It Is ts a soft and anil almost velvety plant resembling a ayoung ayoung ayoung young pine but In late summer the first leaves fall off oft and spiny prickles develop as a second crop of leaves In Tn Inthe Inthe the earlier stages It can readily be pulled up by the roots but at ma maturity maturity maturity it can hardly be seized by the naked hand on account of its sharp rigid leaves now developed into veri verJ veritable veritable table spines The weed resembles our own tumbleweeds but In the dry state looks blackish from above It has leaves leav s more acute stems thinner longer and more arched than in hi our species Like some somo of our species it ii itis itIs is a belonging to the order the pigweed pl weed eed and salt saltbush saltbush saltbush bush family and nearly related to the white amarantus alba Full Pull grown crown specimens may reach a diameter diameter diameter eter of or five feet The pest appears to tobe tobe tobe be spreading rapidly The dried plant plantS plantis is iss S somewhat spherical in outline and rolls molls before the wind when broken from tJ fl im m the root scattering Its seeds as asIt It travels Since a large specimen may ranges and has caused such an in increase increase increase crease in the frequency and destructiveness destructiveness of forest fires that our na native native native tive trees and mountain timbers are in imminent danger of speedy destruction destruction destruction tion And it appears that this thistle once disseminated over our open and land will so far rob the soil soU of or its value that cultivation will not be profitable This result seems the more likely from the fact that the w weed eed ed thrives on dry land especial especially ly on sandy and barren soils Some of our dry farms at present pay barely baret the cost of cultivation the first year ear but with this weed revering covering them such lands would probably not pay pa for plowing and seeding to say ing of the annoyance and incidental loss which hordes of these spiny plant monsters would inflict In other ways Wai The last legislature should have I taken decisive action looking to the I extermination of this species before It t thas has overrun the state but failed to 10 todo todo do to so Meantime city and county au authorities s should so s deal with the nui nuisance nuisance nuisance sance as to prevent its spread In this work the children in the public schools can help They The should burn the dry plants before th have rolled over the theland theland theland land and sprinkled It with their seeds As an arithmetical problem estimate the tho number of ot seeds borne by each plant and the number of miles one roll 1011 rolling rolling I ing bush might travel in one day before be before before fore the wind The Cocklebur One of the worst of our weeds needs Is the cocklebur Its most conspicuous fea feature feature feature ture Is its large bur about an an inch long longwith longwith longwith with hooked spines that enable it to at attach attach tach itself to the wool of animals and to provide for the extermination extermination tion of the said cocklebur etc ete Sec It shall be the duty of the several district attorneys to prose prosecute prosecute prosecute cute etc The growth of the cocklebur at first is slow and as It needs light and room to develop Into a robust plant it may maybe maybe maybe be choked down by any crop that will crowd and shade it In permanent pastures and waste places I where it flourishes best It could be eradicated in time by mowing the plants about twice each year In Au August August August gust and September or by cutting them up with a hoe or spud In May and June As the seeds often lie dor dormant dormant dormant mant in the bur several years cars before germinating it might re require require require quire a like period to exterminate a patch by this method The young plants should be pulled up in cultivated or soft soil Germination of Cockleburs The seeds of the cocklebur are In pairs one a little higher and heavier than the other In seeds weighed by Professor Arthur of Pur Purdue Purdue Purdue due university the average weight of the upper was 63 65 and the lower 46 millIgrams milli milligrams milligrams grams Unlike most seed cases the r 4 a r t tr 1 r r L II I r 4 J fl ji 1 t r r I lJ 11 Drawn from nature for this article by br seventh grade pupils of the training school TOP TO BRANCHES OF WEED SUBJECTS FOR OBSERVATION IN GRADE 7 1 Tumbleweed the erect variety Amarantus albus 2 Russian thistle kali kall trams 3 The recently introduced brome grass called June grass Bromus 4 Great tumbleweed 5 Red root Amarantus retroflex us These species may be found unfortunately almost everywhere to be carried everywhere The losses to in the value of their clip must be considerable from the abundance abundance abundance ance of this worthless pest rest It is a coarse annual with branching stems which often bear brown spots Its leaves arel either or egg shaped mid add with dentate margins and often lobed A striking peculiarity Is that the bur is the in enclosing two flowers and two seeds while the staminate flowers are found in little clusters higher up on the stem The Law In Oregon The Oregon law provides s for the de destruction destruction destruction of the Oregon variety the dagger cocklebur as follows Section It shall be the Hie duty of the supervisors to cause the destruction of the weed known as the dagger cocklebur where such weed shall be found growing upon the public highways Sec The owners or occupants of lands shall carefully extirpate such weed when the same is bound growing upon the land of such owner or occupant occupant occupant pant etc Sec See It shall be the duty of municipal corporations and county au cocklebur does not split open to dis discharge discharge discharge charge its Us seeds seed but there is an open opening ing ng of or a size that would admit a needle in each half halt of the bur at the apex Through these openings the style of the young oung flowers protruded in an earlier stage Now the small holes permit moisture to enter as the burs lie in the soil The bur is slight slightly ly curved and the lower seed which is the heavier healer commonly c lies on the under or less convex side Out of burs placed in wet sand to germinate It was the lower seed sped that grew except In fifteen cases This result shows that the common belief among farmers that one of the seeds of the cocklebur ger germinates the first year ear after maturity and the other seed not until the follow following followIng following ing year is probably true When burs fall into the soil therefore there therefore therefore fore the lower seed usually grows the first year after maturity and the upper seed grows the second or some subsequent subsequent subsequent quent year ear Out of burs only one gave a pair of seedlings the first year ear while twenty produced a single seedling the second year ear Of 1787 burs only twin seedlings were pro produced produced produced the others being single The Continued on Page 14 I WESTERN WEED VEED PEST Continued Continued From Fro page 12 pushes Its way out of ot the small opening and then draws the seed leaves after it itA A Students Description One of ot he nature study stud class de describes describes describes scribes the cocklebur cockle ur as follows The cocklebur Is inclined to be sim simple simple simple and commonly grows about a foot high but in favorable conditions it has been b en known to grow five feet The stems are tough tou h rough and covered with brown spots The leaves grow on stems from two to three inches long the petioles being minute minutely ly upward The leaves are sandpapery on both sides The staminate flowers are located in bunches surrounded by little feathery involucres Inv The bur is the of ot the two flowers and the spines are Its scales The staminate flowers shed their pollen and then are areno areno areno no longer of use use The flowers are in ir fine soft scales at first out but these develop later Into hard shells hells covered with hooked spines The cockle cocklebur cocklebur cocklebur bur of ot Utah Is not quite so bad as the th dagger cocklebur of ot other western states for the lants have dag spines The cocklebur of Utah might be called a rosin plant The rosin it contains gives it a bitter taste The cocklebur can be assigned to the seventh grade It Is la a composite flow flower er and a very interesting study to the children chiefly on account of ot the bur It is also very common and can be had whenever you decide to study stud it The plant Is a persistent pest but might be destroyed in a few years if It each land landowner landowner landowner owner would help At present it is multiplying and covering the land The Burdock The burdock was originally brought to Utah for tor a household medicine and It has certain medicinal properties Its roots and leaves are used in blood and skin diseases and the fresh leaves are applied externally upon upon swellings and ulcers Burdock is one of the most common weeds and was introduced from the old world It Is a coarse unsightly biennial which which grows from three tp to seven Beven feet high with a round roum fleshy grooved and hairy stem leaves leav often IS 18 Inches long alternate on lone Ions Ion deeply deep furrowed leaf leat stalks thin oval or with even wavy or toothed margins smooth above aboe and pale and wooly beneath be bc beneath neath Flowers purple In heads armed with hooked tips which make them then almost as great a pest as the cocklebur One plant may bear sells Seeding should be prevented and the plant should be grubbed out In summer taking care to cut the thick root At this season the coarse buys bun bu will wm cling to t the wool of animals and be productive of annoyance e and loss to Principal Weedy Groups A large and familiar group of weedy weed looking plants belong belon to the order Tho The salt bushes the greasewood the redroot large tumbleweed Russian thistle and are included in the group All are homely and more or less fleshy flesh herbs with alternate leaves and min mm minute minute ute ate greenish regular flowers The Tho stamens are usually as many as the calyx are lobes from one to five and an opposite the petals the is al always always ways was but forms a little fruit with a loose coat cot or with a tight coat caryopsis sis These plants abound In wash places or neglected fields by the se 5 c |
