OCR Text |
Show THE COST OF WEEDS The following discussion of weeds is taken from Farmers' Bulletin No. 660, "Weeds: How to Control Them," which discusses in detail methods of controlling controll-ing annual, biennial, and porennial weeds through cultivation and rotation and by keeping weed seeds from reaching reach-ing the farm in crop seeds, in stock feeds, in manure, and in hay and straw. The bulletin also devotes a chapter to the introduction of weed seed3 by the wind, and as seeds sometimes blow a mile or more in a strong wind, prevention preven-tion of trouble from this source depends largely on cooperative weed fighting in a neighborhood. The importance of keeping weeds in subjection cannot be emphasized too strongly. It is difficult to estimate the damage they do, but it is probable that they cost the American farmer several hundred million dollars every year. In a sense, farming might be called a warfare war-fare against weeds. Some farmers emerge from the struggle victorious, while others go down to defeat. So powerful are weed enemies in reducing crop yields, while at the same time multiplying mul-tiplying labor, that the farmer should at every turn strengthen his position against them. Bear these invaders in mind in planning the crops and in deciding de-ciding on the fields to grow these crops, in choosing the implements, in buying seed, and in many other farm activities. Lack of careful planning with reference to weeds is apparent in nearly every community. It has been shown in experiments with corn made by the United States Department of Agriculture that weed eradication is the principal, if not the 1 only, beneficial result of cultivating this ' crop after planting. This means that in cultivating the corn crop tie imple-I imple-I ment3 used should be designed primarily j for accomplishing the destruction of I weeds in the easiest and cheapest way. I It seems to indicate, further, that as ! wed control bicorn s mre thorough, i invercultural tillage of growing crops j may be accordingly decreased. |