1870. 



NEW ENGLAND FAEJ^IER. 



43 



fatal. We should have been pleased if jou 

 had described the condition of the womb. 



AN EXPEKIENCE WITH WHITE-'WEED, 



In 1863 I ploughed four acres of land, which 

 produced only a light crop of grass, and was 

 too low to plant, intending to dress and seed 

 down immediately. The fall was wet, and it 

 was found impossible to get on the manure ; 

 succeeded in harrowing tolerably well ; sowed 

 a part of the seed that season, the remainder 

 the spring following. The first year it was 

 not worth mowing. The first day ot June, 

 18G5, noticing that the land looked very 

 green, I went to it ; you may judge my sur- 

 prise and indignation to find the land occupied 

 with white-weed. We had never had it upon 

 the farm before ; when it blossomed, it was no 

 wonder that the attention of the passers-by 

 was attracted to it. I have seen many fields 

 of white- weed, but none equal to this ; it stood 

 three feet in height. When in bloom, the 

 whole surface was covered with flowers. It 

 would have been difficult to have found a 

 sq-iare yard upon the whole piece that had not 

 a bunch cf roots a foot across ; of tener two 

 or three such would be/ound. I resolved to 

 be rid of it, although many told me it could 

 not be done. 



We cut the crop in June, while in blossom, 

 before the seeds were ripened sufficiently to 

 germinate ; we got a fair crop, the majority of 

 which was white-weed. We ploughed the 

 field as soon as we could after haying. The 

 season favored us ; the summer and fall were 

 hot and dry, the succeeding winter cold — little 

 snow, with sudden changes. In the spring we 

 harrowed the surface thoroughly, wbich was 

 continu'd at intervals of a few days until Au- 

 gust, digging up all that showed itself. When 

 we seeded down, we gave the land a good 

 dressing of leached ashes. This was followed 

 by a good catch and a heavy crop of grass. 



The next season our enemy appeared in 

 force. I purchased refuse salt, applying a 

 handful to the roots wherever it made its ap- 

 pearance ; broke off the flowers that there 

 might be no mistake when we had been over 

 the entire field. This was continued as long 

 as any blossoms appeared. Three days after 

 the application, nothing could be found ex- 

 cepting the place where it "recently was;" 

 the stalks, roots and everything were burned 

 over a space as large as a man's hand. 



The second year but little could be seen, 

 but which I treated in the same manner. Thih 

 year a few heads appeared, which yielded to 

 the salt. To all appearance we are rid of the 

 pest, which has yielded only to determined and 

 continued labor. Without the aid of salt, it 

 would have been a more diflicult task. (I 

 would add that the Turk's Island salt was the 

 best.) 



Mesi:r3. Editors, what is a suitable punisli- 

 ruent for a scoundrel who will raise and pat 



upon the market such seed as this, for it waa 

 obtained in a sack of red-top ? For the sake 

 of putting about a couple of dollars in this 

 man's pocket, I am put to more than a hun- 

 dred dollars expense. The State prison is the 

 only place for such fellows, where their labor 

 would be applied to the benefit cf the State. 



Since then I have closely examined the seed 

 before purchasing ; fifty cents or one dollar 

 a bushel has not been any object when clean 

 seed could be had. In this way the experi- 

 ence has not been wholly valueless. An old 

 gentleman in this vicinity used to keep white- 

 weed and other foul seeds, liable to come in 

 grass seed, in a box ; before purchasing he 

 would look at it, and was able to detect any 

 of the more common kinds. The clean ap- 

 pearance of his fields at the time of his death, 

 was conclusive evidence that the plan was a 

 good one. — W. Broivn, Hampton Falls, N. 

 H., in Country Gentleman. 



How^ TO Clean Old and Musty Barrels. 

 — At this season of the year the farmer and 

 beef and pork packers are often greatly 

 troubled with musty, filthy smelling barrels, 

 bottles, &c. How to cleanse them for use is 

 an important question, which chemistry will 

 answer satisfactorily. 



Permanganate of potassa will entirely de- 

 stroy all fungoid growths and fermenting mat- 

 ter, and render the barrel or bottle perfectly 

 sweet and clean. 



A pint of the permanganate is a sufficient 

 quantity for a cider or beer barrel. It must 

 be thoroughly rinsed so as to touch all parts 

 of the barrel. Its deodorizing and disinfect- 

 ing qualities are wonderful, as it contains five 

 equivalents of oxygen, and will even deodo- 

 rize carbolic acid and remove its pungent 

 smell from the hands immediately. — Hearth 

 and Home. 



Soda Asn for Wire Worms. — A letter 

 quoted in "Milburn's "Pests of the Farm" 

 states : "I had sown a headland with soda ash, 

 as a fertilizer ; the following spring it was un- 

 der turnips, and a man hoeing asked if 'any- 

 thing had been done to the headland ?' I asked 

 'why?' he said, "there was not a plant de- 

 stroyed by the wire worm, and the rest of the 

 field had fifteen to a nest.' I then determined 

 to try it upon another field which was full of 

 wire worms. I have never seen one on it. In 

 the following year I had twenty- five acres of 

 oats attacked more generally. I happened to 

 have a cask of soda ash with me, and ordered 

 it to be sown. From that day the ravages 

 ceased, and within a week the whole field 

 changed its color to a vivid green. I have 

 always a cask by me, ready, in case of any ap- 

 pearance of the wire worm. The remedy is 

 equally efficacious in repelling the attacks of 

 the green-fly." 



