A{?ROPYR(J\ UEPENS. BEAUV. 163 



WDUsually wet, so tliat wlieii IMmothy Jind clover are ii<,niin sown 

 upon the M'hcat at the end of the rotation there will he scarcely 

 any to dispute their possession. But quack would reappear in 

 several years and if the land, as in the ahovo 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. Wo do not believe there is another 

 grass which, Avhen plowed U!ider, 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, 



" Ilenco 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 permeal)le 

 obstacle rather than turn aside." 



On making the best of quack grass, the Counfry Hentlcman 

 says: "When hoed crops are not too i)rominent 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, whitcweed, 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. Whrn this is the case, plow and. 

 harrow well every third or fifth year after cutting." 



In the same paper above named, Henry Ives says: "There 

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

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

 23 



