194 



Destruction of Weeds. 



[JULY, 



3. The spread of injurious grubs, wireworm, &c., is checked. 



4. The soil is kept entirely at the service of the desired crop. 

 There is an old saying, "When a crop stands still stir the soil," 



and our method is an extension of this principle. We stir the 

 ground repeatedly for as long as the crop will allow, and find 

 that the process is a beneficial one to the thriving crops as well 

 as to the most unpromising ones. 



The frequent use of horse implements takes the place of hand 

 labour. The only weeding done by hand is spudding docks and 

 removing the thistles left by the horse-hoe in the rows of corn. 

 Of course, where the work, for some reason or other, has been 

 indifferently done, an additional sixpence per acre is well spent 

 in pulling any weeds that may have come into flower at the 

 time of docking and spudding. 



To take the principal grain crop, autumn-sown wheat : where 

 possible, allow the ground to lie for three or four weeks between 

 ploughing and drilling. A number of weed seeds will ger- 

 •minate which will be killed by the operation of putting in the 

 wheat crop. A week before the wheat appears above ground, 

 it is chain-harrowed (weather permitting) in order to kill the 

 young weeds which have already germinated, without breaking 

 off the young wheat plant which at this time is perhaps half an 

 inch below the surface, and is so brittle that the lightest tooth or 

 spike would break it off. The young weeds, if left until the 

 wheat was above ground, might be too strong to be destroyed 

 with any of the implements employed, especially if rain delayed 

 operations for a further week or ten days. 



Later on, light harrows, the American weeder, the poppy- 

 killer, the spiked chain-harrow, and other like implements may 

 be run over the wheat after it is well up, any time during the 

 late autumn when the condition of the soil allows. 



Failing suitable weather, most excellent results have been 

 obtained during the winter by running a medium harrow over 

 the wheat curing a slight frost. 



This work can be continued and is often necessary during 

 the spring, and is completed by a final horse-hoeing not later 

 than the end of May to destroy thistles and any other weeds 

 that may have escaped the harrow and weeders. The lever 

 horse~hoe is the best for this purpose. 



