Man’s enemies are not by any means confined to those he meets in his
daily work. He has soul enemies which he has to reckon with constantly.
Just as sure as the farmer can depend on a certain preparation to kill
weeds, so can man depend upon a higher power to keep down and destroy
our open and secret sins.
There is no dispute that we must meet the weed question with a
certainty of success and at the same time it must be done in a
very economical manner. In addition to what we may do with our
cultivators and weeders and the growing of such crops as rye
and winter wheat, by which we can destroy a certain class of
weeds before they mature seed, we can also add that there is a
system of weed destruction which is found in spraying. This is
a matter which has come to the knowledge of men during the past
few years. I learn from my reading that the first step in this
direction was taken by a party in France. From that beginning
it was taken up by men here in America, and it has now assumed
a very practical form. The first spray was copper sulfate, or
blue-stone, but this would be somewhat difficult to obtain. The
present material which is largely used is a by-product turned
out by the steel-mills. This is called sulfate of iron. This by
product has been thrown away, but now it can be used for the
destruction of weeds by making a solution of it and spraying
fields that are infested with a certain class of weeds.--O.
C. GREGG, _The Northwestern Agriculturist_.
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