16 



Perennials. It is necessary to study the habits of perennial 

 weeds to see how they grow and propagate themselves fromyearto year, 

 in order to keep them in check ; and a close examination of almost 

 any of them will show that the bu(is from which the young plants start 

 are near the surface of the soil. Hence shallow cultivation, similar to 

 that mentioned above, is the effective method of destroying them. 

 Deep plowing only transplants the buds to a greater depth and in- 

 creases the trouble. Plow shallow(see preceding paragraph), and harrow 

 and cultivate frequently, using a grubber or subsoil plow when it is 

 necessary to stir the soil to a greater depth. As above, the cultivation 

 must be early after harvest and throughout the fall in stubble ground 

 and sod, and in spring and summer among corn, potatoes, and root 

 crops. Ill-timed, irregular or partial cultivation only makes all weeds 

 grow more vigorously. 



Canada thistles, soiu thistles, couch-grass, bindweed, etc., can be 

 destroyed by the following method • Middle of May gang plow the 

 land about three inches deep and harrow thoroughly. In two weeks, 

 when the weeds are nicely up, cultivate with a common or spring- 

 tooth cultivator provided with wide points that overlap so as to cut 

 off" every plant two or three inches below the surface. Then harrow 

 to pull up the plants and leave them die. In the middle of June, 

 there will be another crop, and possibly a greater number of plants, 

 but not so vigorous as the first crop. Repeat the operations with the 

 wide point cultivator and the harrow. In July a few delicate plants will 

 make their appearance and will have to be destroyed in the same way. 

 This will be sufficient for most weeds ; but bindweed may need one 

 or two extra cuttings with the wide points and a corresponding 

 number of harrowings. 



The preceding method will clean the land, but it involves the 

 loss of a year's crop ; so it is well to add, that land may be kept com- 

 paratively free from weeds without the loss of a crop, by after-har- 

 vest cultivation of all fields not in grass, begun with each field Jus^ as 

 soon as the crop is of and continued throughout the fall, first by shal- 

 low gang- plowing and harrowing and afterwards at intervals, as 

 above, by the wide-point cultivator and the harrow. This treatment 

 followed by a hoed crop properly attended to will destroy most per- 

 ennial weeds and all annual and biennial seeds that are near the 

 surface. 



Note. To Mr. Rennie's method or methods, as above given, I would 

 venture to add one which we have seen carried out with the most 

 satisfactory results by Mr. Rennie on the College farm, and with 

 marked success by far.ners in other parts of the Province. It may be 

 put in the imperative foim, as follows : Sow much with red clover, 

 ia order to have a rich clover sod to plow down for all or nearly all 

 spring crops, taking as far as possible only one crop of hay or pasture 



