45 



mediatoly respecl. Experience in reseeding mowino-s in a 

 field having a rather strong, retentive soil, which had l)econie 

 nnudi infested with white daisy, buttercnps, ragged robin 

 and a few other species, convinced me that the best resnlts 

 are likelv to be obtained by breaking up the land in mid- 

 summer, harrowing it repeatedly and most thoroughly until 

 early in August, — so frequently and so thoroughly as to 

 keep the surface absolutely free from vegetation, — then en- 

 riching liberally and reseeding, sowing seed in very liberal 

 amounts. The seeds of most weeds, if buried in the ground 

 too deep for inunediate germination, retain vitality almost 

 indefinitely, and the number of seeds which has been so 

 buried in many of our soils is very great. Cultivation must 

 be very long continued in order to permit the destruction 

 of all such seeds. Every time wc plow w^e are likely to 

 bring a fresh lot of seeds near enough to the surface to ena- 

 ble them to vegetate. Cultivation must therefore be per- 

 sisted in for a good many years, or it will prove relatively 

 unimportant in its influence on the number of weeds which 

 will start wdien at length the field is seeded. Conditions are 

 most unfavorable for the germination and establishment of 

 weeds in mowings if they be seeded early in August, after 

 thorough preparation of the soil. Moreover, during the in- 

 terval between plowing, which should take place early in 

 July, and seeding, early in August, most of the weed seeds 

 which lie near enough to the surface to germinate will have 

 started, and the repeated harrowings above advised will have 

 resulted in the destruction of the young plants as they start. 

 When, after this treatment and after the thorough enrich- 

 ment advised above, grass and clover seeds are sown, they 

 make a quick and vigorous start, and the weeds gain but little 

 foothold. 



On the grounds of the Experiment Station mowings re- 

 seeded in this way are far clearer from weeds to-day than 

 other mowings which were broken U]i and cultivated for a 

 couple of years and then reseeded. It would, of course, be 

 possible to give fields which have been cultivated such treat- 

 ment as has been recommended in the case of mowings 

 broken and reseeded without cultivation; but. this would 



