THE MONTHLY BULIiETIN. 275 



WEED NOTES FROM COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. 



By (_). W. Newmax. 



Wlieii the Coniniissiuncr of Horticulture decided, in Xovendjer, 1914, 

 to undertake a study of the weed problem in this State, letters were 

 sent to each of the county horticultural commissioners to enlist their 

 cooperation. Replies came in rapidly and we believe that the interest 

 shown proves the necessity of some systenuitic work along this line. We 

 hope to fjet not only the heli) of the county connnissioncrs. l)ut also that 

 of the farm advisers and all farmei's and orchardi.sts who can give us 

 information or notes on weed control. 



'I'hc t'ciHowing extracts arc taken from some of the I'cports which were 

 sent in by the county coiiunissioners. They sliow the necessity for 

 prompt action, and also uiv<' some good pointers on a few of our worst 

 p(\sts : 



Impei'ial County, Mr. F. W. Waite writes: "I am aware that the 

 weed problem is important, therefore I am taking action to improve the 

 situation. In an irrigated country like this I believe a plan of straining 

 the water to keep out weed seeds and roots would be a gi-eat help. I am 

 now working on a i)lan to suggest to the farmers along this line. The 

 following is a list of the principal noxious weeds growing in our county: 



Moniiiifj glory Creeping Malva Wild asparagus Bermuda grass 



Sand l)iir Dodder Cocklehur Crab grass 



JoluiHon grass lUissian thistle Wild sunflower 



Couch grass (i round cherry Yellow Melilotus 



Madera County, Commissioner Geo. Marchbank has this to say: "Our 

 noxious weeds of most importance are Johnson grass, several thousand 

 acres infested: morning glory, several hundred acres; alkali, mallow, 

 spike weed, and others of less importance. The latter is mostly con- 

 trolled now by summer fallowing the grain land. It would be such a 

 huge task to try to eradicate the Johnson grass that I have not 

 attempted it. ^Nly policy has been to clean up isolated places and pre- 

 vent the encroachment on clean ground. For instance, if a fence 

 divides clean ground from infested ground I have the person in charge 

 of the dirty ground top his Johnson grass along the fence so as not to 

 infest his neighbor's land. It is almost impossible to eradicate it in a 

 vineyard, and some vineyards have had to be rooted up to clean the 

 land by summer fallowing. The same is true of morning glory. We 

 control it by knifing during the entire summer and fall but it lives 

 around the vines. Sununer fallowing is the remedy for Bermuda grass. 

 The Johnson grass is never killed entirely by summer fallowing, but is 

 reduced to a minimum, when by continued effort, especially dry shallow^ 

 plowing and hand work, it can be entirely eradicated. I am testing 

 out in a small way a liquid called Dinamine, manufactured in Texas, 

 for the eradication of weed pests, but am not able to form any con- 

 clusions yet." 



Napa County, Mr. J. J. Fox, has given a list of the most prominent 

 weeds in his county. He says: "The worst weed we have is the star 

 thistle. It comes up late and is generally mown off after the hay has 

 been removed, but it comes up again and flowers too close to the ground 

 to handle. We are endeavoring to get the farmers to cultivate imme- 

 diately after the hay is oft" if we can this year, even at the loss of the 



