MAGAZINE OF SCIENCE AND ART. 
123 
lime, or any of its preparations ; of nitrate of potass, of 
soapers waste, or of common salt, not only destroys 
w eeds, but at the same time enriches the soil Ferti- 
lity of soil is intimately connected with abundance of 
bread and meat; ergo, let us farm well, that we may 
have both in plenty. 
Common salt among British farmers is held in much 
regard as a top-dressing manure, or, excitant rather 
Science recommends its admixture with other sub¬ 
stances. A heap made nn in the proportion of two 
bushels lime with one of salt, and allowed to remain for 
several weeks unmoved, by chemical action wil l form 
new salts, namely, carbouate of soda and muriate of 
lime. The presence of these alkalies in the soil always 
operates as new stimuli; iresh and beneficial changes 
are thereby produced, the ground becomes unfit for the 
growth of weeds, but highly favourable to the health 
of any cereal cmeiform or leguminous vegetation sown 
or planted therein The expenses of such reagents 
would be more than compensated by extra fertility, ir¬ 
respective of the destruction to all sorts of weeds: a very 
desirable desideratum, if no other benefits were gained. 
. Fourthly: on arable laudsit is a good plan to scarify 
the surface as soon as young crops of weeds have sprung 
up. A single ploughing for the most part will destroy 
the whole lot. But it is far from unusual that, by a 
deeper furrow, of a few inches, myriads of seeds have 
beeu turned up which had been buried below' the vege¬ 
tating depth, and soon grow up into amazing crops of 
most heterogeneous vegetation when disinterred. In 
such cases, and to clean the land aright, a summer 
fallowing is the true remedy. A clean fallow is a 
cheap fertilizer exterminating all weeds and also gen¬ 
erating new grasses. When soils have been thoroughly 
pulverized, they are rendered more capable than pre¬ 
viously of retaining moisture, a very requisite quality 
in Australia; the ammonia of rain water becomes more 
abundantly separated, and the oxide of iron so plentiful 
in our colonial lands, is partially neutralized. 
The advantages of good faming may be summed up 
in a few words: they may confer a great common good, 
and yield to the practitioners—paying profits. 
Alkaline stimulants serve another important pur¬ 
pose : they annihilate all sorts of insects and vermin 
which infest the soil. This utilitarian quality is' 
warmly recommended to all horticulturists, agricul- ■ 
turists, vine-culturists, in one word, to all terra 
cu I tu rists, if the word is legitimate, if not, please 
legalize it, for the whole are included within the pale 
of its signification. In the writer’s opinion the 
moderate use of alkalies in the soil would be found 
very advantageous to the owners of vineyards, for 
neutralizing the natural aridity of their colonial w ines. 
The gaseous evolutions taken* up by tha vine roots for 
the laboratories of leaves and vine vessels, aud 
maturing in the grapes themselves, svould operate more 
favourably than all the fining and refining, and racking 
and sulphuring, and artificial doctoring, scientific 
skill can suggest. It is admitted that eradication 
would be the most effective process of destroying weeds. 
For this purpose an instrument has been invented, 
called a weeding pincers, not unlike a blacksmiths 
tongs. Such a tool might be very useful for rooting up 
stragglers; but where weeds are countless the work of 
eradication gets hopeless, and the task is relinquished 
iu despair. _ Over wide areas, the system of cutting 
down at all times except when seeds become ripe makes 
the ready practical remedy. Doubtless, a few will 
sprout from the old stocks. This vigonr belongs, how¬ 
ever to the younger roots. They soon perish if kept 
down, and in this exterminating, it is urged, persevere. 
It is an imperative duty to warn the colonists, that 
the rurnex, the dock begins to spread abroad in various 
parts ot* the couutiy. The I>. burr excepted, a more 
pernicious weed could not annoy a colony than the 
dock. Its seels count by thousands ; its roots propa¬ 
gate to every fibre, one ripe dock is quite enough to 
stock a whole station with young rumices. Wherever 
found this weed is plague sufficient. 
A certain colonist when changing his seed wheat 
imagined_ that he had found a valuable nondescript 
plant which grew faster than his young braird, and 
which he proposed transplanting into his garden during 
autum, as a respectable flock owner in the Darling 
Downs meditated doing for a B. Burr, when, as an un¬ 
known plant, lie first found it nourishing on. his station. 
Both in time discovered that they had been ni ,,-sing 
snakes in the similitudes of a villainous dock and 
pestilent B. burr. 
There is another burr producing weed which seems 
to follow in the walks of sheep, after indefinite periods 
of location. _ At first it looks like a trefoil, and cer¬ 
tainly pertains to the medick family. Its hooked seeds 
attach themselves pertinaceously to the legs and thighs 
of sheep, and as firmly as they stick in the wool. Ma¬ 
chinery is capable of separating this burr from the 
woolly fibre. Not so the Bathurst burr seeds; no 
machinery invented is adequate to remove it. HamA 
picking alone can detach this pernicious seed. It fol 
lows, that by how much more the wool costs a manu¬ 
facturer for extra work of hand picking, by so much 
less will the woolgrower receive for his fleeces, with a 
Per centage in addition or rather subtraction. But the 
loss is not the grower’s alone. We have a colonial 
character to uphold. By sending ill got up and burr 
containing Australian wool bales to Britisn markets, 
wo sink our good name and reputation in European 
estimation. 
^ The bastard trefoil him* may be ejected this way. 
Sow the seeds of any valuable grass which will displace 
it. Any grasses of a contrary nature adapted to the 
climate of the district will have the desired effect. In 
short, to extirpate these curses of the soil, and their 
names are legion, the vigorous efforts of a resolutely 
united body called all hands, firmly determined to ex¬ 
terminate a great agricultural and pastoral evil, are 
absolutely required. 
How can this most unusual co-operation be attained ? 
Proposed then— 
1st. That all persons holding Government lands 
under annual leases, who use not their earnest endea¬ 
vours to destroy all noxious weeds on such lands so 
leased, shall not again have their leases renewed ; and 
no leases are to be renewed on any terms without a 
weed destroying clause in each. The report of the Crow n 
Band Commissioner or of any Police Bench on the tes¬ 
timony of two creditable witnesses shall determine tho 
case. 
2nd. Every township ought to be bound to keep its 
area clear of all weeds in general, burrs and thistles iu 
particular. 
3rd. The interests of lauded proprietors may be sup¬ 
posed sufficient inducement to keep their own proper¬ 
ties free from the curse of the ground. If the suppo¬ 
sition is erroneous, an amendment would be required 
perhaps a littl^tringeut in its signification. 
4th. Landlords must insert a weed extermination 
clause in the lease of every tenant, and insist on the 
fulfilment. 
5th. Every stockholder beyond the boundaries who 
neglects to preserve his run clear of barfs and injurious 
weeds shall forfeit all claim to renewal of license, 
whether at the expiry of eight or of fourteen years, as 
the dnration may be, on no conditions whatever. The 
evidence of three reputable witnesses before any Com¬ 
missioner of Crown Lands or Bench of Magistrates will 
bo held as sufficient proof of such neglect. 
N.B. By the word tueeds is to be understood burrs, 
thistles, or any others which may in future times be¬ 
come injurious weeds. The thistle complained of, Car- 
duus Marianos, is totally different from the Scots 
thistle, which never was known as a weed. It is not 
easily propagated. 
The most proper time for cutting down this burr is 
precisely when the plant skew’s full flowering, or soon 
afer; It is maintained by many that the zanthium 
spinosum (B. burr) is an annual. Certainly the cai> 
duus mariauus. or milk thistle, must be oronounced. 
