WEEDS AND GRASSES. 259 



Afterward, if the soil is right, it will not be seen. 

 Chickweed is not a serious disturbance to alfalfa and 

 when present may be harrowed out with a spike- 

 toothed harrow in early spring. Lamb's quarter 

 succumbs to mowing, as does pigweed, both being 

 annuals. The same is true of ragweed, which totally 

 disappears from a field with soil made right and 

 sown to alfalfa. Sheep sorrel, that vile pest of old 

 eastern farms, disappears the instant alfalfa is sown 

 among it on land filled with carbonate of lime and 

 made rich. So disappears that pest ox-eye daisy; 

 nothing is surer to take it out than alfalfa, if the soil 

 is made right. Wild carrot is out when alfalfa 

 comes, and the Canada thistle retreats, to be seen no 

 more. 



The terror of many eastern farms is found in 

 sheep sorrel, wild carrot, daisy and Canada thistles. 

 If alfalfa would do no more than to exterminate 

 them it would be richly worth while. Very great ef- 

 fort is yearly expended in fighting these weeds. If a 

 little more effort was put with that already spent, 

 and wasted, in unavailing conflict, in the way of put- 

 ting the soil right, making it dry, filling it with car- 

 bonate of lime, filling it with humus, giving it phos- 

 phorus and then alfalfa seed, the battle would be 

 won, the weeds exterminated and at no cost at all, as 

 the alfalfa alone would far more than repay the 

 farmer for all his effort and expense. 



There are other weeds that are exceedingly 

 troublesome that alfalfa causes to disappear. The 

 bindweed or morning-glory, sometimes called wild 



