6o 



COMMON WEEDS 



given, taking 2.5 acres to the hectare, 2.2 Ib. to the 

 kilogram, and oats at 42 Ib. per bushel : * 



There are three chief methods of combating Char- 

 lock : (i) By preventing the introduction of the seeds 

 in seeds for sowing, (2) by destroying the seedlings 

 and older plants by mechanical means, and (3) by 

 spraying. 



The first plan is obvious, and may be said to be 

 applicable to all weeds, and has been dealt with else- 

 where. 



As regards the second method, this may be carried 

 out in several ways : by hand hoeing corn crops ; 

 by bringing about a fine tilth in warm spring weather 

 to encourage the Charlock seeds to germinate, and then 

 passing light harrows or the American Weeder over the 

 young plants ; by hand and horse hoeing root and 

 pulse crops ; by chopping off the flowering heads by 

 means of reaping-hooks, scythes, hooks with jagged 

 teeth, and various specially constructed machines ; and 

 by hand pulling. The growth of early potatoes, with 

 the constant tillage they receive, is a valuable means of 

 destroying Charlock. Root crops generally are more 

 useful than any other where Charlock abounds, as the 

 frequent hoeing both aids the roots to grow more 



1 Arb. dei- Dent. Land. Gesell. : Ackersenf und Hederich, Gustav Schultz, 

 1909. 



