respect for other crops, but seem to delight in being monarch of every- 

 thing in sight. 



Quack gi'ass, however, has two redeeming quahties. It mal<es a very 

 good pasture when the stems are young and tender, and it serves as a 

 splendid soil binder. It will stop hillsides from washing and gulleys 

 from deepening. When it secures a grip on the soil, it holds fast. 



The question of most interest to the farmer is not how to grow quack 

 grass, but how to get rid of it. The best plan is to plow it with a broad, 

 sharp-shared plow, having a long, slanting moldboard. It should be 

 plowed when the ground is dry at a depth of not more than three inches. 

 If all the roots are cut off clean and the slice is inverted, during the heat 

 of summer, the hot sun will kill the roots. This is because of a physio- 

 logical dependence between the roots and the stems. The roots depend 

 upon the tops for their sustenance, and if they are cut off, the roots will 

 perish. If in plowing, however, a few roots are left when the slice is 

 turned, enough nourishment will be carried down and distributed to 

 maintain life in a great series of connecting roots. The writer has 

 talked with farmers who have plowed it under and claimed the plant 

 would not die. This was because all of the roots were not severed. The 

 farmer should see that the plowshare is broader than the furrow slice, 

 and that it is very sharp. 



Effect of Grasses on Soil 



Grasses protect, renew and build up soil. Grasses do not gather 

 nitrogen from the atmosphere as the legumes do, but nitrogen in the soil 

 is stored up in gi^ass roots and when the roots decay, forming humus, the 

 nitrogen is available for succeeding crops. Other elements are also 

 formed into compounds through the action of roots, to be subsequently 

 used by other plants. The deeper rooting grasses are especially useful 

 in making available such elements as potash and phosphorus that exist 

 in the deeper subsoils. Grass roots also improve the physical condition 

 of the soil by making it more permeable and friable. 



We know that soil becomes weary after being tilled for years, and 

 nothing revives its latent energies more effectually than to give it a 

 grass vacation. 



Grasses should be treated fairly. They are always improved by 

 occasionally giving them a thin coat of manure. If they are pastured 

 too closely, those having bulbs are liable to be injured and those having 

 very shallow roots are apt to be pulled out. 



It is always a good plan to leave, if possible, a fair growth in the fall. 

 Such a growth not only protects the plant during the severe winter, but 

 forms a splendid fertilizing mulch. 



