504 



FIELD CROP 8 



such as corn, cotton, or potatoes. A smother crop may occa- 

 sionally be substituted for the frequent harrowings of the 

 first year, with as good results and with far less expense, 

 though this method is not reliable, on account of the difficulty 



of getting a stand sufficiently 

 thick in everj^ part of the field 

 to thoroughly smother the weed 

 growth. 



698. Weeds in Cultivated 

 Fields. There is less excuse 

 for weeds in cultivated fields 

 than almost anywhere else. 

 The seeds of cultivated plants 

 are not too small to be sepa- 

 rated readily from weed seeds, 

 while the frequent cultivation 

 which is given should be ef- 

 fective in keeping down an)^ 

 weeds that appear after the 

 crop is planted. Cultivation 

 sometimes fails to serve its 

 purpose, because the work is 

 not done frequently enough or at the right time, oris not 

 thorough. The most effective cultivation may be given 

 before the crop is planted. The land should be well plow- 

 ed, and, if it is left without a crop for any length of time 

 during the growing season, it should be disked and har- 

 rowed at intervals of a week or ten days to kill any weeds 

 that start. Small weeds are very rapidly and effectively 

 destroyed with a harrow or weeder. The land should be 

 harrowed just before the crop is planted, and the harrowing 

 may usually be repeated a few days later, either just before 

 or just after- it comes up. 



With some intertilled crops, the first two or three culti- 

 vations can be given very rapidly and cheaply with the hur- 



Figure 103.— Hull thistli 



