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About Estacada progress. (Estacada, Or.) 1908-1916 | View Entire Issue (July 15, 1915)
them . The extenstive experience w ith weed eradication of the men on the ground has dem onstrated th at there are certain practical methods through which the weeds can be economically controlled. Weeds are not easily held in check, however, and m ethods which will control them therefore m ust be used system atically— th at is. incor porated into the regular schedule of the yearly work w ith the land. Dangerous D ualities in C ertain Weeds The most widespread and dangerous weeds on the E astern Oregon dry farm ing lands are the tum bling m us tard (commonly called the “Jim Hill” m u stard ), the Russian thistle, and the ta r weed. The m ost harm ful feature of the "Jim H ill” m ustard and the R ussian thistle is th at w hen they are disked w ith such a m achine as the double action cutaw ay disk or the double action disk (som etim es called the W alla W alla w eeder), or even the common disk. The first machine is the better, however, as it does thorough work in chopping down the stubble and in form ing a first class seed bed in which all the weed seeds, together w ith shattered grain seeds, will germ inate. Then, when these weeds have started, a second disking should be given before w inter comes, destroying the entire crop. In the spring, if the ground is particularly founl, another crop of weeds will come on and these should be thoroughly destroyed with the disk. This disking in the spring will also help to bring on the germ ination of any fu rth er A Common Sum m er Fallow C ontrast. Sum m er Fallow Offers the Best Op portunity for D estroying Weeds. ripe the weed breaks off at the ground seeds th at may rem ain, which will in and then blows for miles over the turn be destroyed with the plowing of open country. The seeds from these the ground in A pril and May for tum bling plants are shaken out only sum m er fallowing. This treatm en t, if gradually, so th at with every jum p a carried out as indicated, will not only few hundreds o r thousands of seeds get rid of weeds but is of -he g reatest are scattered in a new place. When it benefit in aiding in the conservation is rem em bered th at a full-grown nor of m oisture, as the fall rains are mal m ustard plant will bear an aver quickly absorbed and the w inter snows age of 1,500,000 seeds, it can be seen held. In addition, the stubble is broken th at this ability to travel, combined down and incorporated w ith the soil with an am ple supply of am m unition, so th a t decomposition sets in, humus m akes these w ind-roving plants an e f is form ed, and this becomes available fective enemy. A nother feature of for the use of the succeeding crops. the m ustard is the vitality of the seed, On the other hand, the disking early due to its oiliness and resistan t seed in the spring is of distinct benefit in coat. M ustard seeds will keep alive th at it reopens the surface soil which in the soil from ten to fifteen years; has run together over w inter, enabling hence, when once scattered and plowed it to absoft) the spring rains and hold under, the soil becomes charged with them . F urther, it puts the ground them and every tim e it is replowed in splendid shape for plowing, so th at a certain am ount of seed is brought plowing is not only easier b ut the fu r close enough to the surface to germ i row slice when turned m akes a good nate, perhaps m any years a fte r the union w ith the soil underneath, aiding seed has been turned under. All of greatly in the conservation and use these weeds are very heavy feeders of m oisture. In other words, aside upon the sidl m oisture and plant food from gettin g rid of the enorm ous tax supply, in this way directly reducing on the land of these voracious the crop yields. In addition, they weeds, the treatm en t is m ore than greatly increase the difficulties and (laid fo r by the good effects in mois ture conservation and preparation for costs of harvesting. Practical Method of Weed Control. succeeding crops. Successful and economical methods A nother method of very g reat value of control of these weeds on w heat on the dry farm ing lands for practical lands are as follows: ly any class of weeds is to seed a p art Preventive on the Individual Farm . of the farm in single drill rows three In all waste places and along fence feet ap art. This alfalfa m ay be cul rows the weeds should be clipped and tivated as much as desired, and a t the burned, preferably before they go to end of the first year the field will be seed. In draw s or the lee of hills, clean of all weeds. This alfalfa, of where they accum ulate in the fall, corns’ , may be harvested fo r either thev should be burned off. hay c •* seed or used as pasture for O ften these weeds will blow in large sheep an,, cogs. For either purpose num bers on to a farm er’s land up a it will give a more profitable crop than certain draw or along a hill crest w heat, provided the highly prized from the direction of the prevailing strain s of alfalfa are grown. We es wind. In such cases, it is worth while pecially recommend this crop fo r the to nail cleats on the fence posts am I dry farm er as a forage pasture crop, stretch a couple o f light wires along however. It may be plowed up a t the the cleats so aS to extend the height end of four years and then seeded on of th e fence at those points w here another field until it is gradually the weeds most commonly d rift over. moved over the entire farm . It will When the weeds pile un along this leave the land free of weeds and with fence they m ay be burned off. a trem endously increased fertility for C are should be taken to sow only the production of grain crops. The clean grain and other seeds. In other fields of alfalfa grown this way in w ords, don’t sow any weed seeds when different parts of E astern Oregon seeding the land to crop. Use a fan have proved successful and superior ning mill. to the w heat crops. Remedial. A nother effective treatm en t of this Following the harvesting of the weed which m ay be used in conjunction grain, but not until afte r the first with the methods already nam ed, es rains have come, the ground should be pecially where the weeds are very bad, is spraying w ith iron sulphate solu tion. The especial advantage of this spray is th at it may be applied to destroy the m ustard us it grow s right in the grain crop. The spray will not injure the grain but will destroy all species of m ustard. To use this spray effectively on grain fields, however, requires a weed spraying m achine and a ra th er difficult operation and is not especially recommended. The other methods already named are the most desirable, as they all aim at cleaning the ground of the seeds which are the source of the weed crop. H arrow ing the young grain early in the spring is a practice quite wide ly followed at the present tim e in E astern Oregon. In some cases the harrow is used shortly a fte r the grain is sown in the fall, w here the fall rains have caused a vigorous germ i nation of weed seed. H arrow ing a fte r the grain is sown, w hether done in the fall or in the spring a fte r the grain is well advanced, is quite effective in destroying young weeds, provided it is done with judgm ent. It is quite easily possible to injure the young w heat w ith harrow ing and thus do m ore harm than good, but w here the young weeds are thick and not too fa r advanced in grow th, w here the soil crust is sufficiently mellow to work well w ith the harrow , and w here the grain has been planted slightly more heavily to allow for harrow ing, this practice is believed by m ost farm ers to be a good one. Decidedly one of the m ost desirable weed control m ethods is a band of sheep. Now th at it has been demon strated th at alfalfa and field peas in rows can be successfully grown on the dry farm ing lands, a flock of sheep furnish one of the. m ost profitable sources of the w heat farm er’s revenue. Lambs can be grown and fattened on the alfalfa and field peas and the weeds. The salt bush, the young m us tard, and even the Russian thistle and the ta r weed, before they are too fa r advanced in grow th are alm ost com pletely consumed by the sheep, and the anim als thrive on them . F urther, the sheep take the weeds from the fence rows and corners and from the steep, unplowed slopes, etc., turning them all into a profit. Every! E astern Oregon farm er should have m e field peas and a band of sheep. Last, and perhaps the m ost im port an t weed eradication method of all in E astern Oregon, is the proper culti vation of the sum m er fallow. P roba bly the practice of sum m er fallow ing the grain land altern ate years arose L etting the land lie idle every other year is altogether too costly a prac tice if every possible opportunity to destroy weeds and conserve m oisture is not used. W ith the splendid weed killing machine which the Oregon dry farm er has now brought alm ost to perfection (the slicker or bar w eeder), it is possible to keep the sum m er fal low clean of weeds and in line con dition at com paratively small expense. Aside from weed destruction, the main object sought a fte r in cultivating the sum m er fallow is to avoid pulverizing the surface soil too finely. Careful handling will leave a cloddy mulch on the surface which will not run to g ether and crust over so badly d ur ing the w inter a fte r the grain is sown. C om m unity Efforts. To destroy the weeds on the individ ual farm is not enough in itself alone. One foul piece of land m ay furnish the source of weed infection to thous ands of acres around it. Hence, not only the farm er him self but his neigh bors or even an entire d istrict m ust fight ag ainst the weeds in an organ ized way. 1. Roadsides m ust be cleaned of weeds annually. This may be done profitably by the land owner him self, either by mowing and burning the weeds or, b etter yet, by plowing the roadsires and keeping them cultivated clean of weeds. Some of the most progressive E astern Oregon farm ers are already following this practice w ith satisfaction. It should be pos sible to organize the sentim ent in a progressive district so th at this prac tice would be followed universally. If there are individual farm ers in a com m unity who would not fall in line, it would be possible to do the work under county supervision through a tax, the roadsides being taken Vare of on the sam e basis as the road itself is m aintained. It m ight be possible fo r a county to own a weed sprayer and use the iron sulphate treatm en t on the roadside weeds. The efficiency of this method, however, would need to be thoroughly tested under E astern Oregon conditions before it w as un dertaken on an extensive scale. 2. W here a farm er m akes no effort to destroy weeds and his land becomes a source of infection to neighbors who are fighting the pests, it is possible to m its the road supervisor to enforce g et action through the law, which per- the exterm ination of certain weed pests w here the landow ner refuses to take action. The weeds which it is the duty of the road supervisor to re A Profitable W ay of E radicating Weeds. Growing A lfalfa in Rows on a Gilliam County W heat Farm . partly at least from the necessity of move are the Russian thistle, the Can destroying weeds. The sum m er fallow ada thistle, the silver saltbush, the offers.of course, an alm ost ideal m eans dagger cocklebur, and the tum bling of destroying weeds. It is unfortu m ustard. nate th at while the practice of sum U ntil the organized effort of the m er fallow ing is alm ost universal on com m unity as well as the persistent the dry farm ing lands, so few farm ers effort of the individual farm er is giv take advantage of the ideal opportu en in following the general m ethods nity it offers for destroying weeds. outlined above, the weed proposition A lthough the sum m er fallow is being will rem ain one of the m ost serious a g reat deal b etter taken care of at the E astern Oregon farm er has to face present than it was six or eight years and undoubtedly will steadily grow • ago, yet a late plowed, uncultivated, more m eancing until a radically differ weedy, sum m er fallow field is still a ent type of farm ing will be required m ost common sight in E astern Oregon. as the only way out.