The QuESTioiN- Box. 379 



Mr. Cook. — I incline to the belief that quack is a good grass to 

 Mve. It is one of nature's ways of restoring humus to the soil, 

 as it has a wondrous root growth. Then, too, it makes good 

 pasture. But we kill a piece ever;y year, no matter what the 

 weather is, and it stays killed. We grow foods for dairy cows — 

 -oats and peas, three or four sowings, the last one, about the latter 

 part of June. We take a piece of land full of quack, plow it 

 deeply, early in the spring, then use a heavy disc harrow, weighted 

 so that it requires four horses to draw it. We never use a spring- 

 tooth, because it drags the roots all over the field, and, in a few 

 days, if you do, the whole will be covered with a green coat. But 

 the disc harrow will chop up the roots finely. Then we sow a 

 crop of oats and peas — three bushels to the acre — this will 

 smother the quack crop, in great part. When the crop is off, 

 we plow" the land, fit it well and sow to winter wheat and seed 

 with clover. The next year there is never seen a spear of quack. 

 The only way to kill a crop like quack is to stop its growing. 

 Clutivation and the growing of such crops as I have named, will 

 do it. Use the disc harrow every time, and use it often, till you 

 are ready to sow the oats and peas. It will chop up the roots 

 very finely, which leaves them when dead, in good condition for 

 humus in the soil. 



Ho"u- can -we best secure permanent pasture? 



Mr. Terry. — I do not know what grasses would <io best here 

 (Weedsport), With us, ''blue grass" is the best. 



Mr. Van Dreser. — We use a mixture of red top, blue grass and 

 alsike on low land. On upland, some timothy and clover are 

 sown. 



At what season do you recommend the cutting of timothy hny for best 

 feeding results? 



Dr. Smead. — I would not feed timothy hay to any animal; but, 

 as it is being fed, and no doubt always will be, we must consider 

 its food value. To get the most and best of that, timothy hay 

 should be cut just as it goes out of the blossom. 



