924 Rural School Leaflet. 



THE CONTROL OF WEEDS 

 By Paul J. White 



;^^g^-^ O control weeds there are a few 

 simple principles which should be 

 kept in mind. The first is this: do not plant 

 weed seeds with the seeds of useful plants. 

 It is a curious fact that very many of our 

 worst weeds in New York State have been 

 introduced from other states and from foreign 

 lands. To this class belong orange hawkweed, 

 the dandelion, daisies, and wild carrot. All 

 these are considered serious pests by our 

 farmers. In their native lands some of them are not thought of as 

 weeds at all, for instance the orange hawkweed. This was formerly 

 considered a desirable plant for the flower garden in some sections of 

 the country. Now it is one of the worst of weeds, especially in this state. 

 It is not an easy matter to determine whether one is planting pure 

 seeds. The seeds of many noxious weeds are so much like those of useful 

 plants that no one but an expert is able to tell them apart. A few 

 undesirable seeds in a bushel of timothy are enough to seed a farm in 

 a few years if no precaution is taken to check their increase. When we 

 consider the fact that thousands of weed seeds of many kinds are often 

 sold with every quart of timothy or clover seed, it is not strange that our 

 meadows and fields present such a medley of plant growth. It is an 

 interesting experiment to take a spoonful of the best timothy seed you 

 can obtain and take out and count all seeds which are not timothy. It 

 may be said in this connection that the Department of Agriculture or 

 your own experiment station will determine the purity of any seeds 

 sent to them. 



The second principle in the control of weeds is the act of killing them 

 while they are young. Although there are different degrees of hardiness 

 in young plants of various species it is safe to say that they are all very 

 tender in the early stage of growth. Weeds are often more susceptible 

 to disturbances than are the young plants of the crop which is being 

 grown. Good farmers often take advantage of this fact and just before 

 their crop of corn or potatoes appears above the surface, or even after 

 it has come up, a harrow or weeder is used to kill the weeds. A large 

 field can be covered in this way in a very short tinie. It may save great 



