'virtAfv • 
NEW YORK, JULY 29, 1899 
*1 PER. YEAH, 
SIZING UP THE WEEDER’S WORK. 
SURPRISING RESULTS ON FARM CROPS. 
It Must Be Used in Time. 
USED IN SEEDING.—More has been written, and 
less is known of the possibilities of the weeder, than 
of any other agricultural tool of recent introduction. 
Wnile every farmer’s hoy knows that a weed is al¬ 
most “unkillable,” the wiser father fails to under¬ 
stand that corn, potatoes and berry bushes are 
equally tough, 
and he is afraid 
to use this tool, 
except under a few 
conditions, and 
then usually is 
content to go over 
the field once, af¬ 
ter waiting till the 
crop is big enough 
to stand it. The 
weeds are able to 
stand it, too, and 
his hopes, raised 
by the apparent, 
deceptive appear¬ 
ance of the field 
immediately after 
the scratching, are 
dashed by the 
cheerful way the 
weeds straighten 
up the next day. 
1 le concludes that 
it was lost time, 
and does not try 
it again. 
A weeder is the 
most useful tool I 
have, when used 
on time, and in¬ 
telligently, and 
completely useless 
at all other times. 
One piece of 
grain was not 
seeded when drill¬ 
ed, as we usually 
do, and I had to 
use the wheelbar¬ 
row seeder, which 
broadcasts the 
seed and leaves it 
uncovered on the 
surface. I do not 
believe it good 
practice to leave 
any seed uncover¬ 
ed, and could not 
harrow it in. The 
weighted weeder 
drawn over th 3 
field both ways 
covered the seed 
which, at this 
date, looks even 
and thick. The ground at that time was very dry, and 
I was surprised to find the grain taking on a better 
green, and outstripping the neighboring plots; evi¬ 
dently the stirring of the surface promoted growth, 
as in the case of other crops. 
The field is badly infested with sorrel, and at that 
time was covered with the sprouting seeds, but there 
is hardly any there now. 
IN THE STRAWBERRIES.—We set an acre of 
istrawberries early ip April, and were afraid the sur¬ 
face would bake from the tramping of the plant set¬ 
ters. The weeder without weights was put on, and 
the crusting was prevented. When the first weeds 
broke surface, the weeder was put on, and the 
ground covered twice. 
After two weeks, a third weeding was given, and 
a man followed, uncovering the plants, where stones 
had lodged on them, and cutting the remaining 
weeds. It took four hours to hoe an acre. A spoon¬ 
ful of phosphate was sprinkled around each plant, 
in one field of strawberries and black raspberries, in 
alternate rows, and the weeder followed stirring it 
in nicely. A thrifty plot of three-quarters of an acre 
has received about one day of actual hand work, so 
far this season since setting and there is neither a 
weed in them, nor a plant missing. The last time 
we used the weeder, the newly set black raspberries 
were 18 inches high, and they, as well as the red 
raspberries, came out of the operation exactly as 
they went in. 
♦ 
HOW CORN STANDS IT—We have several plots 
of corn—flat, clay soil, mellow, steep hillside, and 
one very stony, steep piece. The clay crusted after 
drilling, and the weeder broke it so that the corn 
could come through. The corn was just showing, 
leaves not yet unrolled, when used the second time, 
and the field was a mass of sprouting weeds. The 
third time, the corn was four inches high, and the 
soil so dry that not many weeds survived. This piece 
was intended for ensilage, and thinking the weeder 
would kill, some 
corn, 1 drilled in 
12 quarts per acre, 
with rows 28 
inches apart, 
therefore, I did 
not worry about 
the corn being 
torn out, and put 
the weeder in for 
the fourth and 
last time, when 
the plants were a 
foot or more 
high. This was 
to stir the sur¬ 
face, and prevent 
loss of water by 
evaporation. 
The corn is too 
thick, and the 
heavier seeding 
was unnecessary 
on this piece. I 
do not think it 
killed two stalks. 
It has been culti¬ 
vated twice, has 
only an occasional 
weed, and nothing 
more will be done 
to it. It is very 
large and of dark 
green color. On 
the mellow hill¬ 
side, a few stalks 
were torn out, and 
it pushed the 
smaller stalks 
over. On the sec¬ 
ond stony plot, 
some flat stones 
remained on the 
corn. We could 
have used a 
smoothing harrow 
on the first piece 
once, but not on 
the others. We 
went over the last 
two, and straight¬ 
ened up the corn, 
cutting a few this¬ 
tles, removing the 
stones, and have 
a fine growth. 
One year ago a neighbor’s hens scratched up the 
most of an acre, and after five thorough harrowings 
to kill the remaining corn, I sowed buckwheat. In 
the Fall, it seemed as though there was twice as 
much corn as there was in the Spring. 
I made up my mind that, if corn would stand a 
spring-tooth harrow five times over in one day, I 
would not worry over a weeder again. 
In potatoes, sorrel, smartweed and, worst of all, 
Summer grass, which, before the advept of the weeder, 
