THE RUSSIAN THISTLE. 9 



the weed under that their crops have been little injured, but it has 

 cost a great deal in extra labor, and they have been compelled to fight 

 it every year h.-cause of -seed blown in from adjacent lands. On the 

 other hand, the farmer who has not attempted to drive the weed from 

 his farm has sustained immense damage to his crops, and in some cases 

 has even been driven from his farm. 



"Remuli'* in Cultivated Fields. Wheat and other spring crops 

 should be sowed as early as possible on well-prepared land, so that the 

 crop may get a vigorous start and shade the ground before the weed 

 seeds germinate. The wheat may then be cut early, when there is less 

 da 111:1 -r that the thistle plants will be large enough to cause trouble in 

 harvesting. By such a plan this and many other weeds growing in the 

 stubble may be destroyed before they produce seed. 



* ' The land should be plowed as soon as possible after the wheat is cut, 

 and if this can not be done before the first of September the stubble 

 should be burned. The thistle is still rather juicy in August and burns 

 with difficulty, so that it is advisable to mow the stubble and let it dry 

 a few days before firing. In this connection the importance of harvest- 

 ing with a header is to be emphasized, as the greater amount of stubble 

 left by this process furnishes material for a more thorough burning. 

 The land should be plowed or the stubble burned immediately after 

 harvesting a crop of barley, rye, or oats. 



"Crops like corn, potatoes, and^beets should be kept thoroughly culti- 

 vated as late as possible. The extra cultivation will produce a better 

 crop as well as kill the weeds. Several cornfields seen in the fall of 

 1893 evidently produced a much better crop of Russian thistles and 

 pigeon grass than of corn, while other fields near by, apparently with 

 the same kind of soil, but free from pigeon grass and the Russian thistle, 

 bore a corn crop fifty per cent better. Such crops should be cultivated 

 until they thoroughly shade the ground, and if thistles appear after 

 that the hoe should be used, so that none may be allowed to produce 

 seed. Potato fields and gardens devoted to early crops should receive 

 better attention than heretofore. When cultivated only enough to 

 produce a crop and allowed to remain unworked after the middle of 

 July these places usually produce an enormous number of large thistle 

 plants. Many such fields were seen during the autumns of 1892 and 

 1893 which might have been plowed for $5 or less, or even planted with 

 a paying second crop, but instead were left to produce a crop of weeds, 

 which might easily cause damage to the extent of hundreds of dollars. 



"If summer-fallowing is practiced, the land should be plowed late 



the spring, so that seeds near the surface will have germinated and 

 young plants be killed. The harrow or cultivator should be kept 



use during the summer. The thorough cultivation will improve the 



idition of the soil for future crops as well as keep the weeds from 



