486 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



rather, in fact, give seventy-five dollars per acre for a clean farm than give 

 sixty dollars per acre for a farm defiled with the above weeds. It is cheaper 

 in the end. 



Fortunately the methods which tend to build up a farm will incidentally 

 tend to keep down the weeds. Take the case of cockleburs: The cockle- 

 bur not only interferes with the growth of crops, but it actually seems to 

 poison the land, and should be gotten rid of at all hazards. The theory of 

 ridding the farm of cockleburs is one of the simplest and easiest: "Sprout 

 them, and then kill them." The methods of applying the theory are 

 dififerent with different crops. 



A large share of these cocklebur farms should be sown down as soon as 

 possible to clover and timothy and put under a regular rotation. It is not 

 difficult to handle the cockleburs on that class of land. Sow it down to 

 spring wheat, oats or barley, giving the seed bed the most thorough cultiva- 

 tion possible. If, for example, it is largely in corn, as most of these farms 

 are, the first thing to do is to break the cornstalks, then thoroughly disk 

 the land across the corn rows. This will break up the crust, conserve 

 moisture, and level the land so as to make mowing easier the next year. 

 We would not aim to have a very thick stand of grain but would give a 

 heavy seeding of clover and timothy. The cocklebur requires about the 

 same amount of heat to germinate it that corn does. Hence, the prepara- 

 tion of the soil will not germinate the cockleburs. These will grow, of 

 course, during the latter part of May and the first of June, but they will not 

 make much headway until after the grain crop is removed, then they will 

 be in abundant evidence. Let them alone until they fairly begin to blossom 

 and mow before the seeds are sufficiently matured to germinate. If a good 

 stand ol clover and timothy is secured, the subsequent mowing of these will 

 kill the few cockleburs that will appear before they can form germinating 

 seeds. 



The most difficult thing is to handle them in the cornfield. The cockle- 

 burs will begin to sprout by the time the corn is up. Fields of this kind 

 should not be limited to three plowings, but be cultivated just as long as it 

 is possible, and there are circumstances where it is advisable to cultivate the 

 corn when it is in full tassel, using, of course, a single horse. Then hand 

 pulling must be resorted to. Even after the corn is laid by cockleburs will 

 grow, and there is no way to do but to go through once or twice and care- 

 fully pull out overy cocklebur by hand. If any should be mised they should 

 be gone through and pulled out of the corn before the seeds fall off, and 

 burned. 



If they appear in the pasture the same method must be adopted. This 

 involves work, care, and attention, but is the only way of which we know 

 that will rid the farm of this weed which persistently poisons the land. 



The velvet weed is a different proposition. It sprouts early, and in a 

 badly polluted field will come up with the corn and even before it. Thorough 

 and careful cultivation of the corn will keep it down, and if there is a full 

 stand of corn those that come up later will not make a very rapid growth 

 and the frost will likely catch them before they mature seeds. However, if 

 the farm is badly polluted with this weed a man will need to live long if he 

 ever entirely gets rid of it. The seeds will lie in the ground for at least 

 twenty years and will then grow whenever the opportunity is offered. 



