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Show PREVENT TOP GROWTH OF PERENNIALS AND BE VICTORIOUS IN WAR WITH WEEDS a ? x .til' w "), f - A " ' ,! - , . ' -s " S t ; V,S4 ' - ; . . '. . ;--AV' J ' T - ' - . vNL.-: - - : , - . - - : ? - ' N I i:st' 1 . v 1 . ! . ' t , - 4 , Weil-Kept Roadside Where Weeds Are Controlled by Frequent Mowing. (Prepared by the United States Department Depart-ment of Agriculture.) Keep down the top growth of perennial per-ennial weeds In order to starve out the underground parts. This top growth Is equivalent to the lungs of animals ; without it they cannot live. Any methods that successfully keep down the top growth and at the same time suit the farmer's convenience mny be used. Among the ways that mny be adopted for keeping down top growth are the following: (1) Clean cultivation; culti-vation; (2) pasturing; (3) growing smother crops ; (4) frequent cutting with a hand hoe, spud, or mower; and (5) smothering small patches with building paper or other material. Clean Cultivation. In most cases cultivation will be relied upon to destroy de-stroy perennials. The work may be done either with or without a cultivated culti-vated crop growing on the land. Many farmers have eradicated perennial weeds by giving thorough cultivation to a crop. Cultivation Is especially effective effec-tive If the crop has been planted In checkrows, so as to permit working In two directions. The ordinary shovel and tooth cultvators permit many weed stems to slip through unharmed. It Is often best, therefore, to use cultivntors of the sweep or weed-knife type. These sweeps skim along under the surface of the soil and cut off all weed stems. On many of the modern cultivators, sweeps 9 to 18 inches wide mny be attached In place of shovels. Perennials mny often be attacked most effectively by clenn cultivation without growing a cultivated crop ; In other words, by a bare fallow. It Is seldom advisable to fallow for an entire en-tire year, since this does not permit the farmer to get any use of his land. A. better plan Is to use the land dur-mg dur-mg the early part of the season nnd to fallow It In the latter part. For Instance, In-stance, the land mny be pastured until midsummer, or a crop of hay or small grain may be taken off before starting the fallow. This plan has the additional addi-tional advantage of starting the work of eradication by fallowing at a period pe-riod when nearly all weeds are in their most susceptible stage. Under this plan the work of fallowing should be started as soon after harvest ns possible; pos-sible; the land should be plowed nnd then harrowed or disked at frequent Intervals during the remainder of the season to prevent top growth. Ordinarily, Ordi-narily, shallow plowing Is best In fallowing fal-lowing for weed control, ns this keeps the mass of weed roots at or near the surface, where they will be more easily eas-ily dried out by the sun. If this fallowing fal-lowing be well done, many kinds of perennials per-ennials will have died by the close of the season. Pasturing. Pasturing mny often be found of much help In keeping down the top growth of perennials. Sheep are of first Importance In this connection. connec-tion. They will browse upon almost all kinds of weedy growths and fatten under the process. In parts of tha West, when the pasture grasses be-J come brown during the summer, sheer will turn their attention to the weeds, which nre the only green feed In sight. This fact has been taken advantage of In killing bindweed and the small-leaved small-leaved milkweed. Goats nre even more omnivorous than sheep, but the regions where It Is profitable to keep goats nre limited. Hogs are of some value In weed eradication, because they will root for the underground parts of mnny weeds. These animals have been used to great advantage In getting rid of bindweed, or wild morning-glory. Where it Is feasible to confine sheep, goats or hogs to very restricted areas for one or more seasons, they will in most cases completely kill perennial weeds. Wher& It Is not practicable to graze sufficiently close to entirely destroy perennials, the grazing still greatly weakens the root system of these plants, making It an easy task to complete the destruction by cultl-vntlon. cultl-vntlon. Smother Crops. Thick stands and vigorous growths of smother crops may be depended on to keep down the top growth of perennlnls. The most commonly used smother crops are alfalfa, al-falfa, buckwheat, soy beans, millet, sorghum and bur clover. Some weeds are more susceptible to this treatment than others. Bermuda grass may be eradicated by a continuous succession of smother crops. Alfalfa, where It succeeds well, Is the most effective smother crop, Inrgely because it combines com-bines frequent clipping with the smothering effect. It mny be relied upon to reduce greatly or even to eradicate erad-icate entirely most perennials except some of the grnssy weeds. In the ense of smother crops, as with pasturing, the principal value Is to weaken the root systems of perennials, which facilitates fa-cilitates the work of cultlvntion which Is to follow. Mowing or cutting. Cutting off repeatedly re-peatedly the tops of perennial weeds with a mower, scythe or other tool may sometimes be used to advantage. This Is of most use on pastures, roadsides road-sides nnd other uncultivated places. It has been found that mowing twice a year for two years will eradicate the fern brake, one of the bad weeds of pastures In New England and New York. Smothering With Building Paper and Other Materials. Where perennial weeds occupy very limited areas It Is often practicable to prevent further spread by covering the Infested area with building paper, taking care to lap over nnd weight down the ends so as to exclude all sunlight. Building paper pa-per suitable for this use normally may be obtained at from $2.25 to $4 per thousand square feet, or ?97 to $172 per acre, depending on its thickness. Manure, straw and other mnterials are also employed for this purpose. |