PREVENTION AND ERADICATION OF WEEDS 65 



Yet again it has been suggested that the thistles should be cut 

 an inch above ground, as water then gets into the stub and 

 injures the crown of the plant, thus enfeebling the shoots, 

 whereas if the plants are stubbed off below ground young and 

 luxurious stools shoot up. 1 Nettles can be kept under by 

 cutting regularly when the shoots are 6 to 1 2 inches high, and 

 ragwort (Senecio jacob&d) can be eradicated by cutting just when 

 it begins to show flower, provided it is not too strongly estab- 

 lished. It sometimes happens that a weed, uncommon in most 

 places, will become so abundant in a particular district as to 

 be a real trouble. This is the case with the wood geranium 

 (Geranium sylvaticum}^ which is difficult to extirpate if it 

 gets a hold. Some measure of success has been obtained 

 by repeated cutting with the scythe, and it is possible that 

 pasturing the field for several years might be useful, though 

 cows do not seem to eat the plant. 



Where it can possibly be done, bracken is readily dealt 

 with by means of cutting, but usually it covers such large 

 areas that this method is impracticable. The plants should 

 not be interfered with too early in the year, one or two 

 cuttings made when the bracken is well grown having been 

 found to exhaust the underground food stores more thoroughly 

 than if the young fronds are prevented from developing. 

 Early July and August seem to be the best times in Wales 

 and Scotland, 3 * but it might be needful to make the first cut 

 rather earlier in warmer districts. It is necessary to repeat 

 the process for two or more years, as cutting for one year 

 only is of little use. Another way is to run chain harrows 

 repeatedly over the ground at the time the fronds are coming 

 up, for if this is done thoroughly and persistently the plants 

 are greatly weakened. 



Very low, close-growing weeds, like the stemless thistle 

 (Cirsium acaule), are sometimes very troublesome on hilly 

 pastures, as they cover a considerable amount of ground with 

 their spreading leaves and kill out all other vegetation in that 

 area. Their habit makes them difficult to eradicate, and 

 repeated spudding, carried on throughout the summer, is 



1 " Gleanings from Agriculture " (1802), p. 409. 



2 Milburn, T. (1916), "Eradication of Crane's-bill from Meadows," Jour. 

 Ed. Agric., XXIII, pp. 688-689. 



a " Eradication of Bracken," Dept. Agric., Univ. Coll., N. Wales, Bull. V 

 (1914); Bull. Ill (1915). 



4 Gordon, G. P. (1916), " Bracken (Pteris aquilina) Life History and Eradi- 

 cation," Trans. Highland and Agric. Soc., Scotland, XXVIII, pp. 92-106. 



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