ERADICATING SORREL.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 3 October 1907, Page 1

ERADICATING SORREL.

Sorrel is one of the most difficult weeds to get rid of once il gets firmly established, and in repyl to inquiries as to the best practice lor its elimination it can be slated as one of the positive facts that it is labour in vain to attempt to get rid of sorrel in rainy or even cool weather. The work must be done when the sun's rays are sufficiently powerful to wither the plant when it is turned up, and by keeping this fact steadily in view many farmers have been able to eradicate the pest. By carefully watching a field, ana working only on hot days, each successive growth of sorrel is killed as it appears, and paddocks that were formerly over-run with the wood are now free from it. If the soil is moist and cool, the sorrel will =nrout with undiminished vigour, but *.he ombined effects of the heat and the skimmer are too much for it, the result being shown in clean fields. As 'he name indicates, the skimmer is an implement for operating on the surface r "i] '>n!y, though it can be set t<» stir t!i!> ground to a depth of thive of four : ni'hcs. It consists of a rectangular ivii frprr.e, to which are attached two -■'.<• 1 knives, each about two and a !:■■ 1 f feet in length, and set so as to fmn two sides of a triangle. The d.'pth of working is regulated by a wheel, and handles at the end are used for guiding the implement. Onion growers use it because it provides a firm s^d bed for the onions, preventing the bulbs from growing downwards in the soil, a point of great importance in r.nion cultivation.