132 MEADOWS AND PASTURES 



weed, but it does not send out so long underground run- 

 ners and so spreads very much less. Moreover, one can 

 with one pull of a hoe unearth every bit of a clump of 

 it and shake off the earth so that it dies. I do not know 

 the real value of nimblewill, but advise its extermination. 

 Like quack grass it is very bad for alfalfa, and soon 

 crowds it out. 



Eradicating Quack in the Northwest. For some rea- 

 son the grass is harder to destroy and spreads more rap- 

 idly in northern regions than elsewhere. It may be be- 

 cause of our habit in the cornbelt of frequent rotations 

 of corn which is cultivated during hot, dry weather when 

 the grass is easiest killed, while the northern regions are 

 more given over to crops of small grain. Prof. Henry 

 L. Bolley of the North Dakota Experiment Station thus 

 relates his method of destruction in The Breeder's Ga- 

 zette : 



"To give advice to farmers whose lands are now over-run by 

 quack grass may seem as though adding insult to unavoidable in- 

 jury, for to quack grass extermination there is no easy road. No 

 spraying method for eradication of this grass is economically pos- 

 sible while other crops are to be grown. Direct application of salt 

 to the areas has not proved satisfactory. If in small patches up- 

 root it in dry hot weather and as far as possible, remove all 

 underground stems. Visit the areas once every eight or 10 days 

 and remove every apparent spear of grass with the attached under- 

 ground stem. Or cut it off in July and cover closely with tar paper 

 so as to quite exclude the light. Allow the paper to remain there 

 through July and August; then plow deeply. Or cut it off closely 

 in July and cover deeply with straw or manure. Visit the areas 

 often. Dig up any scattering plants not covered. 



"If in large areas, mow the grass off when in blossom, break 

 the sod shallow (not to exceed two inches) in mid- July. Back-set 

 in mid-August at a depth but slightly deeper than before. Then 



