294 



THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



grow. It may eometimes be destroyed by cuttin": 

 the plant so as to enfeeble ii, and soaieiimes it is 

 duji; up by the roots. Eiit when it prevails in 

 pasture grounds lo any extent, the proper reniedy 

 is a course of tdlage. 



Several of the grasses are known as weeds, 

 which, froni their creeping or vivacious roots, it 

 is difficult to extirpate. 



13. The marsh bent-graps extends itself not 

 only by its creeping roois below the surface, but 

 by its stolons or suckers above ground. Others 

 of the genus extend themselves in the same man- 

 ner in wet situations. They receive the names 

 of black couch, black twiicli, or black wrack. 



14. The common^ oat-like grass has bulbous 

 roots, whence it is called by larmers knot-grass. 

 It ie a very troublesome weed in many soils. 

 The little bulbs when detached from the root, 

 grow again, so that very careful tillage is required 

 ioexlirpf4te the plant when it takes possession of 

 a piece of ground. 



1-5. Creeping soft-grass is another plant which 

 when it takes possession of ground is not easily 

 ■rooted out. It has a strong creeping root ; but 

 the species is comparatively rare.* 



16. Common wheal grass or couch-grass, is 

 railed likewise quick or wrack, and receives many 

 other names. It is the tnoel abundant of the 

 perennial weeds of corn lands. It-: roots are 



creeping, and every part cf them left in the 

 ground will grow ; and hence the dilTiculty of 

 extirpating the plant. The most effectual means 

 •of doing so, is by frequent ploughing and har- 

 rowinof, and collecting the roots by the hand. 

 This constitutes, as was formerly seen, an im- 

 portant part of the process ol" the summer falloiv 

 ;ind preparatory cleaning crops. There is no 

 weed which requires so constant a vigilance on 

 the part of the husbandman as the creeping 

 wheat-grass ; but it is well that in contending 

 with this perpetual enemy he is compelled to 

 give a more assiduous tillage to his land than he 

 inislit otherwise be induced to do. 



These different grasses are frequently all con- 

 iiaunded under the name of couch, quick, and 

 wrack, — names sufficiently indicating their cha- 

 racters. 



17. The soft rush, with other junci, are all to 

 be regarded as weeds when they prevail amongst 

 the better plants. They indicate wetness, and 

 are only to be effectually removed by draming. 



18. The heaths are a widely extended family, 

 covering a large part of the north of Europe. 

 Wfiere they intrude amongst the cultivated plants 

 they are to be regarded as weeds. 



Many other shrubby plants are found in unim- 

 proved land, and one of the first objects of cultiva- 

 tion is to extirpate them. Fallowing and liming 

 are the usual means by which this class of plants 

 is destroyed. 



The whin is one of the class of shrubby weeds. 

 It requires continued culture thoroughly to extir- 

 pate it ; for, after being apparently subdued, it will 

 spring up again in irreat numbers, and for succes- 

 sive years. When the land is in irrass, the young 

 shoots may be sometimes pulled up by the hand, 

 after the land has been saturated by rain. But 

 when whins have thoroughly established them- 

 selves in the soil, and extended their roots, they 



• Called wire-grass in lowfir Virginia.— Ed. F. R. 



must frequently be hoed up before the plough can 

 act. The land being then ploughed with a good 

 fijrrow, the remaining roots are torn up, and the 

 plants at length destroyed. On elevated sheep 

 farms, whins should be encouraged rather than 

 destroyed, lor in such situations they afford shelter 

 and food. 



Broom is a shrubby plant, for the most part 

 niore easily extirpated than the wliin, though in 

 certain situations it grows with great pertinacity. 

 It afl'ects the lighter soils. 



Brambles and other shrubs of the ros3 family 

 are often the possessors of unimproved soils. 

 Certain species of the bramble are very tenacious 

 of their situation. These plants are destroyed 

 by the same means as the whin; and the like 

 remark applies to all the large shrubs. 



19. Another class of weeds is the acolyledo- 

 nous, or flowerless plants, at the head of which 

 stands the fern. Of" the ftirn or fern-like plants, 

 there are many species m this country. They 

 grow chieffy in mountainous tracts of natural 

 pasture. 



20. The last in order of llic weeds are the 

 mosses. These plants are altogether innutn- 

 tious. They often intrude extensively on pasture 

 ground, and su|)f)lant the herbage plants. The 

 best remedy in all cases is a course of tillage, and 

 the application of lime. 



The list of perennial weeds might be greatly 

 extended. They differ in their characters and 

 habits of growth, but they are all of them eradi- 

 cated by carefiil tillage, chiefly during the period 

 of the summer fallow and cleaning crops. 



ON BURNING COTTON STALKS, TO DESTKOY 

 INSECTS. 



From tlie Farmers' Gazette. 



A neighbor of mine was induced by an article 

 headed " Bu^n your cotton stalks," which has 

 been published in several papers, to make an 

 examination of his cotton stalks, which has re- 

 sulted in his conviction that the suggestion of'"' A 

 young Planter," is worthy the consideration of his 

 brethren ol the plough. This gentleman states 

 to me that a number of his cotton stalks perished 

 last summer, in different stages of their progress 

 to maturity — some of ihem with a partial crop of 

 bowls upon them. In making the inspection al- 

 luded to, he discovered that some of the limbs 

 were perforated underneath, near their junction 

 with the main stem. In some of these cavities, 

 he found a small straw colored bug of an oblong 

 form, between the size of a grain of wheat and a 

 small pea, while from others the little intruder had 

 disappeared. I here inquired of him if it was 

 not probable that these intruders had commenced 

 their exploring expeditions after the stalks were 

 killed by frost, to which he replied, that he noticed 

 several apertures which were partially closed by 

 the after growth of the plants. From tliese facts, 

 he is persuaded that much evil for the preserjt 

 season mijiht have been averted by a timely de- 

 struction of his cotton stalks. 



If any light can lie shed upon this subject it is 

 desirable that it be reflected through your columns. 

 The subjects of rot and rust, after all the specula- 

 tions that have appeared in reference to their 

 origin, still remain among the " terra incognita" 



