278 



Manures. 



Vol. ir. 



notwithstanding' my former care. This se- 

 cond crop was mostly young, and might be 

 owing partly to the seed from the parent 

 stock, for it was a seed stock when nrst 

 taken notice of, as well as from some of the 

 remaining roots and fibres of roots, thongli 

 tJiere were none left in the ground to my 

 knowledge. I now directed a similar opera- 

 tion for the second removal of them, and if 

 not successful, I intend to adopt the method 

 recommended in the enclosed slip from a 

 Bucks County paper, the republication of 

 which, in the Farmers' Cabinet, may be a 

 good answer to an inquirer for information 

 upon this subject, and an advantage to the 

 farmer who is troubled with tliis thistle. The 

 writer's description of the plant is certainly 

 a good one. Yours, &c. 



James Anderson. 



Loiver Merion, Montjjoniery Co. > 

 March 19th, 1838. 3 



From the Bucks County Intelligencer. 



Canada TSJistle. 



There are a great variety of Thistles, some 

 are annual — some biennial and some perenni- 

 al. The two first kinds may be easily destroy- 

 ed by cutting them down with hoes or mowing 

 betbre the seed ripens, they are but very little 

 in the way of the farmer, do but little 

 injury to the land and generally looked upon 

 as an evidence of the goodness of the soil.— 

 But those that are perennial are very difficult 

 to extirpate and cannot be destroyed but by 

 a total eradication of the root with all its fibres 

 or by destroying them in the ground. The 

 Canada Thistle is a perennial plant, strikes its 

 root deep into the ground from one to two 

 feet in one single stem with joints one or two 

 inches apart from which small fibres shoot out 

 — trom three joints there will spring up new 

 tops if the upper part is cut oifor the root bro- 

 ken and any of the joints left in the ground — 

 when it grows with grain or tall grass such 

 as Timothy, in a good soil, it throws up gen- 

 erally one stalk from 18 to 20 inches high on 

 tiie top of which it has a head like the com- 

 nion thistle but smaller and with smaller 

 seeds of the same shape and color, with a 

 down attached to the end of which tiie wind 

 carries the seed and spreads it abroad — whore 

 it grows by the road side or in pasture fields 

 ft branches and spreads out a bushy top, the 

 leaves smaller and more numerous than the 

 common Thistle and every leaf is covered 

 with small and very sharp spikes, like needles. 



Some years ago I discovered the Canada 

 Thistle on my farm among the Oats; when 

 cutting it the seed was ripe and most of it 

 blown away from the head, the next year the 

 field was laid down in grass, the Thistle came 

 tjp very thick, I concluded to destroy it if pos- 

 «We. I had the gronnd dug up 12 inches 



deep about a rod square where it grew the 

 thickest: all the roots gathered out that could 

 be found and burned. After lying a few 

 weeks, the Thsitles came up very^jthick from 

 the joints of the broken roots that were left 

 in the ground — I then had about two barrels 

 offish pickle and three bushels of salt put on 

 well mixed with the ground, all this did not 

 destroy the Thistle it came up from the bro- 

 ken roots that were still left in the ground 

 and grew, but appeared weak and unthrifty 

 — as we did not dig up the whole ground con- 

 taining Tliistle 1 adopted another experiment 

 to destroy it. My farmer took a grubbing hoe 

 and stuck it into the ground about three 

 inches from the plant so as to bring up the 

 plant and part of the root with the sod, then 

 put a handfull of coarse salt into the hole, 

 took the root out of the sod and returned the 

 sod to its place, — in no instance did the root 

 shoot up again, but perished where it was cut 

 off at or near the centre of the hole, the salt 

 gradually dissolving for months, completely 

 destroyed it. — The seed being spread by the 

 wind over a considerable space of ground, 

 the Thistle continued coming up every sum- 

 mer for three years, and as oflen as new 

 plants came up they were dug up and salted, 

 by which means the Thistle was totally erad- 

 icated. This appears to be a tedious and 

 and protractive mode of destroying it, but it is 

 effectual, and one man can destroy a great 

 many plants in a day. The Thistle has been 

 brought from the State of New York into 

 this country by slieep the seed getting mixed 

 in the wool is carried by them and scattered 

 over the country, it is also brought in Tim- 

 othy seed. 



BUCKS COUNTY. 



For the Fanners' Cabinet, 



manures. 



Manures are of three kinds, vegetable 

 animal, and 'mineral, and a compost made 

 of either or all of these intimately combined, 

 by industry and intelligence will make grass 

 grow most luxuriantly ; and when that is ac- 

 complished no farmer need apply to the doc- 

 tor to know what to do next. His collapsed 

 purse will soon begin todistend itself and to 

 stand up stiffly. But I was going to state 

 that a considerable diversity of principle and 

 practice prevails in regard to the best mode 

 of applying manures of different kinds, and 

 that difference is most considerable in regard 

 to the application of the mineral manures; 

 particularly lime and marl, or more appro- 

 priately the green sand of New Jersey, Dela^ 

 ware and Maryland. As respects plaster of i 

 Paris, it is universally admitted that it ought I 

 to be applied as a top-dressing to grass or : 

 clover ; when the rains di.^solve portions of it I 

 and carry the solution down to the absorbing 



