15 



Ekadication of Weeds. 



The most important points under this head are : 



First, a determination to get rid of weeds and to keep the land 

 clean. 



Second, the method or methods of tillage and cropping. 



As regards the latter point, the writer feels that he cannot 

 do better than submit the method outlined by our late Farm Super- 

 intendent, Wm. Rennie, whose experience of over thirty years warrants 

 him in speaking with some confidence on the subject. Mr. Rennie's 

 method not only cleans the land but increases its fertility, and those 

 who wish fuller information should consult the college reports for 

 1895, 1896, and 1897. 



For various reasons, very few farms in the older sections of the 

 Province of Ontario are free from weeds, and the question how to 

 clean our lands without incurring too much expense is one of the most 

 important which can engage the attention of Canadian farmers. 



In the tirst place, I would say that all obstructions to cultivation, 

 such as piles of stone, must be removed — hauled away to the woods or 

 an out-of-the-way corner in the winter or some other slack time. 

 Secondly places for harboring weeds, such, for example as snake 

 fences, should be got rid of as soon as possible. On the Ontario 

 Experimental Farm, nearly all held fences have been removed. The 

 outside and lane fences are almost the only ones leit. Portable fences 

 are used when required for pasturing live stock. 



Annuals and Biennials. Wild oats, wild mustard seed, and 

 some other seeds belonging to these classes, have great vitality. If 

 down pretty well beyond the reach of the air, they will live for twenty 

 years, and will germinate as soon as they are brought near the suface. 

 The be.st way to destroy annuals and biennials is by thorough and 

 frequent shallow cultivation, early after harvest in stubble ground 

 and in sod plowed for the following year, and at the proper season 

 (spring and summer) among what are called "hoed crops" that is, 

 potatoes, carrots, turnips, mangels, Indian corn, etc. By shallow, 

 cultivation the seeds are kept near the surface, and by frequent stirr- 

 ing of the soil they are made to sprout : and having sprouted, they can 

 be killed by further cultivation. Those which sprout late in the fall 

 are destroyed by the winter Irost It is impossible to get rid of such 

 weeds by plowing the ordinary depth, say seven or eight inches, once 

 in the fall or at any other time. Plow shallow (not more than four 

 inches in sod and three inches in stubble ground), and harrow and 

 cultivate from frequently, as by each stirring of the soil fresh seed is 

 made to sprout and what has already sprouted is destroyed. When 

 necessary to loosen the soil to a greater depth, use a grubber or a 

 subsoil plow. 



