THE JOURNAL 



OF THE 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Vol. XI. No. 4. 



JULY, 1904. [NEW SERIES.] 



DESTRUCTION OF WEEDS BY SURFACE 

 CULTIVATION* 



The system I propose to describe in the following pages is 

 one that has been carried out with great success for several years 

 on a farm of 400 acres (300 arable) in East Anglia, and will,, 

 it is believed, supersede the system of spraying so much advo- 

 cated of late years. Spraying, at the best, is an expensive 

 operation, and up to the present has been effectual in the case 

 of only a very few weeds, principally charlock. By our method 

 all seedlings may be destroyed. 



The climatic conditions prevailing in the eastern counties 

 differ, as is generally known, from those of the rest of England 

 in that the rainfall is lighter ; cold easterly or north-easterly 

 winds are the chief characteristic of the spring, in which season 

 the greater part of the surface cultivation to be described is car- 

 ried on. - The spring growth is, consequently, somewhat later as 

 a rule than in the western and southern counties. 



The farm comprises both light and heavy soils. The lighter 

 portions of it were infested with red weed (poppy), and the 

 heavier with charlock. 



The system referred to consists in frequently stirring the 

 surface of the soil, with the following results : — 



1. The growth of weeds is prevented. 



2. The soil is maintained in a fine condition so as to retain 

 moisture. 



* The destruction of weeds is also dealt with in Leaflet No. 112— "Weeds and 

 their Suppression." An article on the subject appeared in W^Journal, March, 1904. 



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