CHAPTER XII. 

 TREATMENT FOR SPECIAL WEEDS 



Quack Grass. Quack grass is one of the most persistent 

 of the perennial weeds in the state of Iowa and the North. 

 The roots of quack grass are shallow, the vast majority 

 occurring within less than six inches of the surface of the 

 ground. The following methods have been suggested for 

 its extermination : 



The Crop Method. The land is brought into as good 

 a state of tilth as possible and sown thickly with millet, 

 buckwheat, sorghum, or rape. This method does not 

 destroy the roots of quack grass. It does, however, re- 

 duce their vitality to such an extent that they are not as 

 vigorous after the removal of millet or sorghum. Then 

 the field should be given a shallow plowing and the roots 

 exposed to the sun. This cannot usually be done in the 

 state of Iowa until the middle or latter part of September. 

 In nearly every season we have very dry weather in Oc- 

 tober, and after harrowing two or three times most of the 

 roots will be killed by drying. 



A second method, which has been followed successfully 

 by some of the German farmers in northern Iowa, is this : 

 To plow the field, harrow, and remove and burn as many 

 of the quack grass roots as can be seen. Then give clean 

 culture throughout the entire season. By digging up the 

 roots with a spade or fork and giving clean culture, hoe- 

 ing, if necessary, quack grass can be removed. This has 

 been done, not only in our own experiments, but many 

 farmers have tried the same, successfully. It is a rather 

 expensive process, however. 



Summer Fallow. The summer fallow method has 

 been tried frequently in northern Iowa. The land is 



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