THIRD ANNUAL YEAR ROOK — PART XI. G73 



this hydro-headed monster. I must confess to a considerable degree of 

 ignorance on the subject and not have a printed line on the subject by- 

 others as authority, but "In a multitude of counsel there is safety," so 

 we will proceed to compare notes for we have doubtless some among us 

 who have had long acquaintance. Personally, my experience with it has 

 been limited. Although born in central New York where the thistle was 

 all too plentiful, I came westward to "grow up with the country" at an age 

 in which weeds were among the least of my troubles. My experience and 

 acquaintance with this vile pest began a few years ago, perhaps a dozen, 

 in about this manner. I had a few acres upon which I had been grow- 

 ing the black locust trees, and concluding that I had grown them long 

 enough. I cut all clean and burned the rubbish. I sent to Chicago for a 

 quantity of special mixture of grass seeds that when grown should con- 

 stitute a permanent pasture and produce fresh feed at all hours from the 

 earliest blue bird's call in spring till the next winter's snows buried all. 

 Blue grass, red top, rye grass, sheep's fescue meadow foxtail, sweet vernal 

 grass, Bermuda grass, crested dog's tail, and probably a few others that 

 I do not now recall, all of course to be thoroughly recleaned seed. This 

 seed was sown in March over the cleared tract which had very little of 

 any kind of grass over it having been too much shaded. The sequel proved 

 that these people had been very generous in this mixture and had in- 

 cluded more varieties of seed than they had agreed upon, among which 

 was a considerable amount of seed of the sheep sorrel, also Canadian 

 thistle, as well as several other kinds of the thistle family. I turned sheep 

 into this lot after a few weeks, and they cleared up for good the locust 

 grove. One day in midsummer four or five years later in crossing the 

 patch I noticed a patch of thistles perhaps thirty by fifty feet in area that 

 at once attracted my attention and interest, as well as suspicion. Upon 

 taking sample stalks to my father he immediately pronounced them Can- 

 ada thistle. Examination showed three or four other patches of much 

 less extent on the lot. I proceeded at once on a raid of extermination. 

 I cut each plant about an inch below the surface putting a small amount 

 of salt upon each cut root stem. The sheep were not otherwise salted at 

 that period, and naturally made life a burden for any tiny head of thistle 

 peeping out. This was continued every few days while the growing sea- 

 son lasted. There were a very few tiny, weak plants came up the next 

 season but a repetition of the salting process two or three times closed 

 the deal on the Canada thistle on Evergreen Farm. Where one has sheep 

 I believe the treatment I used would be as effective and as cheaply applied 

 as any other, unles the area be very limited so we might smother them. 



I think I would make two general propositions— that is to say, follow 

 one or the other of two principles. First, cut two or three inches deep, put 

 on the cut root stalks, salt, coal oil or strong acids, any of which will de- 

 stroy the root for some distance from the point of contact. Probably car- 

 bolic acid would be the most effective cheap application. You may buy 

 it for 50 cents per gallon. Of course this system must be frequently applied 

 and thoroughly carried out. The other line of work would be starvation 

 of the plant by preventing any development of green leaves or other parts 



