Since phenoxyacetic , and perhaps related compounds, can cause 

 poljmeuritis when allowed prolonged contact with the human hands or 

 body, care must be taken in handling to keep them off body surfaces. 



Cleaning of Equipment Used in Spraying Formagenic Compounds 

 2,4-D; 2,4,5-T; Sodium Dichlorophenoxyacetate, etc. 



Equipment used in spraying should be thoroughly rinsed with 

 kerosene, if oil sprays are used, or with a dilute solution of 

 washing soda if aqueous sprays are used. 



Further rinsing with warm water and soap is recommended, 

 especially if oil carriers have been used in diluting the spray 

 materials. Acetone and ammonia water are other 2,4-D solvents useful 

 in cleansing equipment . One teaspoonful of powdered activated 

 charcoal per gallon is a good rinsing combination. One-half ounce 

 of trisodium phosphate per gallon of water is another 

 effective rinse. 



CONTROL OF SUBMERSED AQUATIC PLANTS 



Diversity in methods of reproduction and propagation of sub- 

 mersed aquatic plants makes them difficult to control. Most of the 

 coarse weeds are flowering plants and seeds are generally produced. 

 Sometimes, as in the case of the common waterweed ( Anacharis ) , the 

 flowers are very small and inconspicuous. The seeds, usually 

 produced on short spikes, are dispersed rapidly by water currents, 

 by the wind, and by animals, including birds. Some plants, like 

 Anacharis and coontail ( Ceratophyllum ) , have brittle stems. Terminal 

 buds at the tips of stems and sections of stems bearing leaves 

 break off and produce new plants. A common method of propagation 

 is by means of underground stems--subterranean offshoots of the 

 parent plants which grow out laterally into the bottom mud. These 

 underground stems, also called rootstocks or rhizomes, have joints 

 or nodes from which new shoots arise. This is why the mere draining 

 of a pond and the mechanical mowing of weeds gives only temporary 

 results. The bottoms of many ponds remain damp enough to preserve 

 these invisible underground stems in a viable condition long after 

 the top soil appears to have dried out. 



Once submersed plants have become established in a pond, the 

 only certain means of eliminating them is by shading them out or 

 by killing them with chemicals. "Shading out" is nature's method 

 of elimination. It is done artificially by encouraging the growth 

 of microscopic plants in the open water with fertilizers. The 

 microscopic plants ("water-bloom" algae) are universal in their 

 distribution. They reproduce by means of minute spores which are 

 wind or water-borne. Their rapid increase is often accomplished 

 by simple division of the cells. 



17 



