AGROPYRUM REPENS, BEAUV. 169 



unusually wet, so that when Timothy and clover are again sown 

 upon the wheat at the end of the rotation there will be scarcely 

 any to dispute their possession. But quack would reappear in 

 several years and if the land, as in the above case, were retained 

 in grass for six years or more, the quack would again largely 

 predominate. As our lands are sandy with gravelly sub-soil, 

 they need frequent rains, so that a season rarely passes without 

 a drought of lesser or greater severity prevailing. It is then that 

 quack is easily destroyed. The shallow corn cultivator, always 

 here used, exposes the quack roots to the parching air and sun 

 and destroys them. Upon this farm quack is a blessing, though 

 perhaps a troublesome one. We do not believe there is another 

 grass which, when plowed under, will furnish a greater amount 

 of suitable food for Indian corn, while the cultivation given for 

 suppressing its summer growth is no more than that which a 

 full corn crop needs. 



" Hence it is that any disturbance of the roots during wet 

 weather, or when the ground is at all moist, serves as much to 

 spread the plant as to suppress it. These rootstocks grow rap- 

 idly and persistently, preferring to grow through any permeable 

 obstacle rather than turn aside." 



On making the best of quack grass, the Country Gentleman 

 says: "When hoed crops are not too prominent or common, 

 quack is not so bad. It is neither killed by drought, hard freez- 

 ing, nor close feeding. When cut early it makes the best of hay. 

 Where it has a foothold, docks, thistles, whiteweed, and other 

 weeds are unable to put in an appearance. Land intended for 

 permanent fields must be broken often, as the roots form such a 

 close sod it soon binds out. When this is the case, plow and 

 harrow well every third or fifth year after cutting." 



In the same paper above named, Henry Ivessays: "There 

 are three ways to manage quack. One is for the timid man who 

 thinks he cannot subdue it, and who works accordingly. He 

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