90 IVccds. 



crops is also good for the destruction of 

 weeds. It may happen sometimes that the 

 season will be so dry that the seeds sown 

 for catch crops will not germinate ; when 

 such is the case, the dry weather which pro- 

 duces this result will also be hurtful to the 

 growth of weeds. 



14. Practice autumn cultivation. In the 

 war with weeds, one of the very best meth- 

 ods to be adopted is "autumn cultivation." 

 It is questionable if any other means can be 

 made use of that will so well repay the out- 

 lay. Autumn cultivation means the tilling 

 of the soil after harvest with a view largely 

 to weed destruction. As soon as the crops 

 are removed, the land that is not sown to 

 grass should be plowed. All weeds that 

 are above the surface of the ground at that 

 time are thus turned under, while the weed 

 seeds lying in the soil are encouraged to 

 germinate. The weeds that grow from 

 these may be destroyed by harrowing or by 

 cultivating, or by the late autumn plowing 

 that just precedes the advent of winter. In 

 this way myriads of weed plants will be 

 got rid of in a single season. 



There are two real difficulties which 

 stand in the way : ( i ) The season at which 



