260 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



have a song of joy, and all nature seems hymning 

 an anthem of praise. Gladly the farmer greets 

 the spring-time, and with a light heart prepares 

 his fields, and sows the tiny seed, which will yet 

 yield a glorious autumn offering. No feverish ex- 

 citement disturbs his placid life, — no wild dreams 

 of fame and glory — no ambitious schemes, whose 

 bright hopes gleam for a space, then fade in dark- 

 ness away. His course is before him — simple and 

 plain — peace and contentment are the inmates of 

 his breast. Day after day beholds him at his 

 healthful toils, and fortune smiles upon him. His 

 table boasts few foreign luxuries, but plenty is 

 ever there, and the viands produced by his own 

 care are partaken of witli a relish which the epic 

 ure might envy. Home is to the husbandman a 

 delightful spot. Care flees from his fireside, and 

 the evening hours are spent in calm converse or 

 innocent glee. When night's sombre curtains en- 

 fold the earth, he finds a sweet repose, for toil has 

 lent "a blissful zest to slumber." 



How many young men who now forsake their 

 rural homes and seek the crowded ^ity, would 

 escape the snares of the tempter and shun the cup 

 of sorrow, if they remained upon the peaceful farms 

 of their fathers. e. c. l. 



Lebanon^ Vt. 



WITCH GRASS. 



There are few spurious productions character- 

 ized by a more invincible tenacity of life than witch 

 grass. When it has once become thoroughly 

 radicated in the soil, it is almost impossible to get 

 rid of it. Some writers who appear to be im- 

 pressed with the idea that no human effort is com- 

 petent thoroughly to cleanse lands which have be- 

 come fouled by its presence, recommend cultivat- 

 ing it as hay ; but we can contemplate witch grass 

 in no other light than that of a most troublesome 

 and exhausting truant, and one that the farmer 

 cannot do better than to keep at a distance, let 

 the expense be what it may. That it makes a 

 most excellent and nutritious feed for stock, when 

 cut early and properly cured, admits not of any 

 doubt ; and we are far from denying that there 

 are any circumstances in which it may be advan- 

 tageously and profitaWy cultivated, as for instance, 

 on soils of a low description, where the surface is 

 somewhat soft, and which are otherwise constitu- 

 tionally incapacitated for tillage. In such situa- 

 tions there is at least a strong probability that its 

 introduction would be attended with success. But 

 no farmer who understands its nature, will ever be 

 seduced into the practice of sowing witch grass 

 seed on lands intended to be cultivated subse- 

 qu3ntly. The well-known difficulty attending its 

 eradication, will operate on most minds, as an ef- 

 ficient caution in this respect. Indeed, every one 

 who appreciates easy and thorough cultivation, 

 •will guard against its propagation and spread as 

 much as practicable. In light soils, of a rich and 

 warm character, the labor of extirminating it — un 

 less extra means are resorted to — is usually the 

 labor of a life, and we can now point to many fields 



in which sufficient extra labor has been performed 

 in consequence of the usurpation of this pest, to 

 purchase the soil twice over, and yet the crop is 

 more luxuriant and vigorous than it was when at- 

 tention was first directed to them. The roots of 

 this grass are very strong and numerous, they are 

 also remarkably tenacious of life, and unless they 

 are removed from the soil entire, this may be a 

 temporary abridgement of the evil but no perman- 

 ent cure. Some gardeners, when this pest has be- 

 come radicated in their soil, cover the surface with 

 boards, and allow the land to|rest a year. In this 

 way it is suffocated, and is probably more easily 

 destroyed than in any other way. The loss of the 

 year's crop is of trifling consequence, as the pres- 

 ence of the witch grass would render the expense 

 of cultivating it too great to allow of much profit, 

 even under the most favorable circumstances. 



When a soil can be covered for two successive 

 seasons, in this way, the eradication is thorough, 

 generally speaking, and with proper care in the 

 after cultivation it will rarely be restocked. Salt, 

 in large quantities, will destroy witch grass ; but 

 the amount required for this purpose renders the 

 undertaking expensive, especially if the soil is 

 deep, rich and mellow, as in such cases the roots 

 extend to a great depth, and generally numerous, 

 vigorous and strong. It propagates mostly by its 

 lateral roots, and when allowed to grow, generally 

 produces a medium crop for two years ; it then 

 begins to dwindle, the stalks l>eco3ne annually 

 thinner and less numerous, and it finally "runs 

 out," although upon plowing and manuring the 

 land, it always reappears and flourishes as before. 



The best and cheapest way we have found to 

 exterminate this grass, is, to plow deep, pulverize 

 finely, and then with a rake and the hands gather 

 up the roots and cast them away, or burn them. 

 Then with a three-toothed cultivator, the teeth 

 being ten or twelve inches long, go over the ground 

 thoroughly ,which will bring up a still further por- 

 tion, which must be gathered as before. 



In this thoi'ough manner we have cleared «an 

 acre in a single season so as to find little trouble 

 from it afterwards. Harrowing, raking with the 

 spring-tooth and the independent acting rakes, 

 have proved utterly futile with us in collecting 

 these grass roots. 



Harrowing late in autumn, after the ground has 

 been frozen, and thawed again two or three inches 

 in depth, is said to kill the roots by turning them 

 out and exposing them to winter frosts. 



Cure and Preventive of the Potato Rot. — Mr. 

 H. Penoyer, of Union county, Illinois, publishes 

 in the St. Louis Fepitblican his experience and suc- 

 cess in preventing the potato rot. He has tested 

 his preventive for four years, with perfect success, 

 while others in the same field who neglected it lost 

 their entire crop. It is asserted, also, that the 

 root is nearly double the size. The remedy is as 



