Vol. 16—1962 - NorthEastern Weed Science Society

42
weed growth wasn't the best answer. Amongprofessional men in the field today,
however, there still are those who are not convinced that the acid soil theory
of weed control should be discarded.
Reginald Beale (1), writing in Great Britain about 1930, made this statement:
"There are tens of millions of pounds spent on education every year and
yet there are still manywho cannot understand that' when ~{eeds come up in a
lawn, or elsewhere, it is a perfectly natural occurance, in fact it would be
unnatural if they did not, because every part of the earth's surface contains
seeds or spores of some sort of weed or another". He goes on to write" It is
essential for the owner of a lawn, no matter if it be sown or turfed, young or
Old, to fight the weeds year in and year out if he wants anything approaching
a good lawn". Mr. Beale then goes On to explain how these weeds are to be
battled. Small lawns, those up to about 15,000 sqU~re feet, can be handweeded.
Weeds in larger areas may have to be suffered in reluctance. He did sugg~st
one chemical treatment if the turf contained a great many weeds. A material
called Carteri te, or lawn sand, COUld,be broadcast at a certain rate. This
notation was made: "Lawn sand being highly caustic will burn everything' ineluding
the grass, and will kill upwards of 80 pere~nt of the weeds, only the
very strong and deep-rooting varieties escaping". Can you imagine a rec~.men.
dation of this sort today?
In a book written by Dickinson of Massachusetts (4), published in 1930,
a few chemiCals are suggested for turf weed control. Dusting ammoniumsulfate
on the leaves of certain weeds, or painting them with a concentrated solution
of the chemical is suggested. Iron sulfate spray is suggested where dandelions
are numerous.
Another book (2), published in 1933, listed i+on SUlfate, copper SUlfate,
sulfuric acid and sodium arsenite as chemicals available for selective weed
control in turf.
other chemicals often suggested through the 1930's for spot treatment of
weeds were kerosene, powdered lead arsenate, powdered fertilizer, and sodium
chlorate.
This paragraph appeared in a 'past issue of turf CUlture (7). Can you
guess when it appeared? "A few years ago when the news of a cheap, effective,
reasonably safe method of controlling weeds in turf with chemicals began to
spread, there were manywho harbored the allusion that this was the final
answer. There WOuldbe no more we$dsl Simply sprinkle a magic powder over the
lawn and presto! - a perfect lawn with no work involvedl This idea, more than
any other, has retarded the cause of chemical weed control by producing disappointing
results. Some illusions are dispelled quickly, others gradually;
this one takes no time at all. The first trial convinces anyone that che~al
weed control is but one step in the production of beautiful turf". This might
logically be from an article written today but actually the date was 1939. The
chemical in reference was sodium arsenite.
Just where are we today in turf weed control? . First, I believe all turf
specialists are in accord that good managementis the first and most important
step in control. In the recent book on weed control by Klingman (1) this