160 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



would be required to conduct the fight. As it is being continued every- 

 one is cooperating witli us, and in many districts these weeds have been 

 entirely eliminated. 



Much attention has been paid to the clearing of public highways, in 

 which the Supervisors have given us very good support. All ditch 

 banks are kept clear of weeds, as they are one of the sources by which 

 most of the land is infected with many of our worst weeds. Probably 

 this county has a harder problem in the control of weeds than any 

 other in the state, as so much of it is held in large tracts and farmed 

 on a very extensive scale. The problem will be solved only when all 

 these large tracts are subdivided and the land is more intensively 

 farmed. It is only through careful cooperation among all land owners 

 of the county that the work of exterminating noxious weeds will be at 

 all satisfactory, as the weeds quickly spread from the badly infested 

 farms to the clean ones nearby. 



Other weeds of the county, many of which are very troublesome, are : 



Johnson grass (Sorglnon halepense) , wild morning glory {Convolvulus 

 arvensis), dodder {Cuscuta spp.), cockle-bur {Xantliium canadense), 

 wild sunflower {Helianthus annus), pig weeds {Amaranthus sp.), loco 

 weed {Astragalus spp.), buffalo bur {Solannm rostratum), tar weed 

 {Madia sativa) , Avild mustard {Brassica campcstris) , yellow sweet clover 

 {Melilotus officinalis) , horehound {Marruhimn vulgare) , common mal- 

 low {Malva rotnndifolia) . 



Johnson grass and Bermuda grass are probably the worst weeds of the 

 county, and are generally widespread. Both of them are used a good 

 deal for pasturage for stock, and no campaign has been made against 

 them. Johnson grass is chiefly located in a large district which is 

 sub-irrigated, in which the control of this weed would be very expensive 

 and tedious, as all the land is badly infested with it. 



PROTECTION FROM RABBITS. 



By J. B. Hundley, Inspector, Yiicaipa, California. 



Although the rabbit is not usually considered among the pests of 

 deciduous trees, still I believe that it does more permanent harm to 

 young orchards than any other pest or disease. In this one section alone 

 there have been upwards of 100 acres destroyed, during the past eighteen 

 months, not to mention the trees that are badly scarred and misshapen. 



There are two methods of protection now generally used, both of 

 which have serious objections: 



First is a fence around the entire orchard. This is expensive, and 

 needs continual care, as the rabbits will dig under it. It is a hindrance 

 to cultivation, and becomes useless after the orchard is a few years old. 



Second is the old style paper or yucca tree protector. I believe this 

 does more harm than good, as a rabbit will tear it off and gnaw the tree. 

 I have seen this done many times. Then it is a harbor for insect pests 

 and diseases. The most serious objection is that it keeps the sun and 

 wind absolutely away from the tree, causes the bark to become tender 

 and, therefore, much more apt to sun scald when the protector is eventu- 

 ally removed. Many trees are badly injured in this way. However, I 



