176 IVccds. 



cutting before the seed ripens will be effect- 

 ive in preventing its spread. Nearly all 

 the other weedy grasses quite closely resem- 

 ble some one of the three mentioned in the 

 beginning of this paragraph, and may be 

 eradicated by using the methods recom- 

 mended for the one they most nearly 

 approach in their habits of growth. 



(l) QUACK GRASS. 



Quack grass (Agropyron repens) is 

 known by a great variety of names, as quack 

 grass, scutch grass, quick grass, quitch 

 grass, and dog grass; but it is generally 

 called either quack or couch grass. Quack 

 grass is a creepmg perennial, the root-stocks 

 of which are so numerous that they soon fill 

 the soil. They resemble considerably the 

 roots of Canadian blue grass {Poa com- 

 pressa), but they are much larger and 

 stronger and more vigorous in every way, 

 and they are very much more tenacious of 

 life. The root-stocks of quack grass are so 

 strong and unyielding that they have been 

 known to push their way through tlie tuber 

 of the potato. The stems grow to the height 

 of one to three feet, according to soil and 

 season, and each of them is terminated bv 



