50 JOUENAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Coucli can be combated by general cultivation to loosen the soil, and 

 bring the couch to the surface, followed by collection and destruction 

 of the rootstocks; in gardens by deep trenching — an effective plan as 

 we have proved ; by thorough hoeing of crops to prevent leaf formation 



Fig. 23. — Couch Grass (Triticum repens L.), showing extensive Creeping 



EOOTSTOCK AND FLOWERING SpIKE (cENTRE), AND FOR COMPARISON THE 



Flowering Spike of Perennial Eyegrass (Lolium perenne L.). All x §• 



and exhaust the reserves of food material ui the rootstocks ; by late hoe- 

 ing in autumn, when seedlings appear to become estabhshed ; and gener- 

 ally by the growth of heavy crops, which always tend to smother out 

 weeds. 



