1850. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



187 



PIGEON WEED, OR RED ROOT. 



>Ikssrs. EniTiiRS i — I improve a moment to inquire of you 

 what can be done with the destrueiive and noxious weed 

 called the ** Pigeon Weed," which is running us out in this 

 section of the country. Some crops of our wheat are almost 

 entirely run out by the weed. .Some are on the eve of con- 

 sidemtion, while others ha"ve come to the conclusion that 

 they can not raise wheat unless there can be some remedy 

 resorted to, which we are as yet unaware of If the Editors 

 of the Farmer can give us any information in regard to the 

 above inquiry, it will be thankfully received througli ihc 

 Farmer. Chas. W. Hobart. — Yatesville, July. 1850. 



An excellent essay on Pig^eon Weed, or Red Root, 

 was written by Chas. M. Stark of Yates county, 

 and published in the N. Y. State Transactions for 

 1846. It was published in the February number of 

 the Farmer of 1848. We think we could not better 

 answer our correspondent than by copying a part of 

 this essay : 



"The first thing to be considered, is the fact that 

 red root is a biennial plant that will not germinate 

 to any great extent in the spring, it being its nature 

 to come up in autumn, and can not therefore be erad- 

 icated without fall plowing. I would recommend 

 the following practice : The first crop, wheat ; the 

 ground to be plowed but once, at least eight inches 

 deep, which should be done in July, after which it 

 should be thoroughly pulverized with a cultivator, to 

 the depth of four inches. My reason for preparing 

 the ground in this way, is this : the most of our land 

 is seeded down after wheat, and of course receives 

 its red root seeding at the same time ; consequently 

 a very large proportion of the seed lies near the sur- 

 face. If this be turned under to the depth of eight 

 inches, but a very small portion will germinate, and 

 the wheat will be to a certain extent free from its 

 pernicious presence ; if plowed twice, the seeds arc 

 mostly thrown back to the surface, which is admira- 

 bly adapted to the increase of the pigeon weed, wliile 

 once plowing is found to be at least as good, and I 

 believe decidedly better for the wheat. If it be pos- 

 sible, the red root should be pulled out of the wheat ; 

 but if the quantity be too great for this pur|)ose, a 

 more protracted effort must be made to destroy it. 



"The wheat stubble should be plowed in the fall, 

 just as deep as it was for the wheat, and well har- 

 rowed. In the spring the ground may be plowed, 

 (as shallow as possible;) but I deem it decidedly 

 better to use the large cultivator with steel teeth, as 

 not one spear can escape if it is thoroughly cultiva- 

 ted, and the ground will be in better order for the 

 crop, which may be barley, oats, or spring wheat : 

 but in my opinion, should be peas. The ground 

 should be again plowed and harrowed in the fall. 

 In the spring let the operation with the cultivator be 

 repeated, and the ground planted to corn. If this be 

 placed three feet apart each way, and tilled with a 

 cultivator, no weed of any kind need be grown among 

 it. This crop should be planted as early as the sea- 

 son will admit, to give time for another plowing in 

 the fall, when the ground should be harrowed as be- 

 fore. In the spring the same thorough use of the 

 cultivator is necessary, and the land may be sown to 

 barley, peas, or oats, which must be decided by the 

 crop raised the second year. If peas, then barley or 

 oats may follow ; but in no case should the same 

 crop be grown in the rotation. I think it the better 

 way to sow (lax for the seed, because I consider it 

 as profitable as any other summer crop ; and as the 

 ground should now be seeded with timothy or clover, 

 I believe flax is the best summer Qrop^that grass 



seed can be sown with. Flax should be sown early; 

 twelve quarts to the acre. I think tin's rotation must 

 destroy the seed in the ground, as all that germinates 

 in three successive years dies, without the possibility 

 of leaving seed. If any yet remains in the earth, 

 the quantity must be so small that it may be easily 

 pulled. We might now sing a requiem over departed 

 pigeon weed, and read the burial survice over red 

 root, were it not that. Phoenix like, there is vitality 

 in its very ashes. Though death and decay may 

 surround it, yet in its stone tenement it is .safe, and 

 with patience it awaits the day of its resurrection, 

 which will as surely come as the manure is removed 

 from the barn-yard to the field. 



"The destruction of the seeds carried to the barn 

 with the wheat, is the most difficult part of the sub- 

 ject ; and in order to effect it, no pigeon weed must 

 go into the barn ; for if it be carried there, it will be 

 taken back again, and no system of rotation or any- 

 thing else will ever subdue it. I feel very diffident 

 about advising any farmer to burn his straw ; but in 

 this case I think the benefit derived from the destruc- 

 tion of the seeds of tliis weed, would be at least an 

 equivalent for the straw destroyed, (or rather decom- 

 posed ; for nothing can be destroyed.) It is the de- 

 cision of agricultural chemists, that a large propor- 

 tion of wheat straw is taken from the atmosphere, 

 and that every particle derived froin the soil may be 

 found in its ashes. As this has been proved by actual 

 experiment, there can be no real loss by such a con- 

 flagration. The proper method is, to stack the wheat 

 in the field, and as it is threshed burn the straw on 

 a.i small a space as possible, as all the heat that can 

 be obtained from it is necessary to destroy the vitality 

 of the seeds of the pigeon weed. T believe it would 

 be profitable in many cases, to mow the stubble and 

 burn this al.so. The ashes should bo gathered up and 

 housed until they can be used in the compost heap, 

 or otherwise returned to the soil. It may be thought 

 that this system is too great a tax upon the land, 

 there being no return made in manure ; but this is a 

 groundless objection ; for any farmer, following the 

 rotation, may apply artificial or barn-yard manure to 

 cither or all the crops raised, as his judgment may 

 dictate. The soil will receive t!ie manure made from 

 the peas, oats, barley, and corn ; and clover seed may 

 be sown with either of these crops, except the last, 

 and the clover plowed under in the fall, (a practice, 

 by the bye, I would by no means recommend.) 



" The manure that has already accumulated in the 

 barn-yard should be drawn out upon a sward, and the 

 ground planted to corn, with the following rotation : 

 1st, corn : '2d, peas, barley, or oats ; 3d, flax ; 4th, 

 wheat. The pigeon weed should be pulled from the 

 wheat, if possible ; if not, the first rotation may be 

 applied after the ground has lain two years in clover. 



" It should be borne in mind, that the presence of 

 pigeon weed is a positive tax upon the farmer, and 

 that every dollar successfully expended in its removal 

 is to him an absolute gain.'' 



In speaking of his efforts to destroy pigeon weed. 

 Carles Hanford of Genesee county, writes — "I 

 should be well paid for my trouble, if all farmers 

 would either pull their red root at the time of blow- 

 ing, or burn all they pull up, instead of placing it in 

 the wagon-track of the road. When muddy, the 

 the seed and mud cling to the wheels, shake off in 

 the barn-yard, get with the manure, and then into 

 the wheat-fields. It requires more labor to rid a farm 

 of this weed than of Canada thistles." 



