6 BULLETIN 1451, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
fully sprouts are almost sure to develop (pi. 7, A), as the supporting 
roots run out to a considerable distance, often 10 or 12 feet, from 
the crown. Roots a foot or more under the surface of the ground 
rarely if ever send up sprouts, but those near the surface sprout 
readily when cut or disturbed by digging. Most of the supporting 
roots of the barberry lie within 6 inches or so of the surface of the 
soil. Some run deeper, however. In digging it is not safe to leave 
the latter, for they may run out a few feet from the crown at a 
depth of more than a foot and then rise again close to the surface. 
It can be seen readily that to dig a bush in the manner described 
requires considerable work, and yet this is exactly what must be done 
to prevent sprouting. 
The use of a team or a tractor in removing the crown of a bush is 
often of great assistance. However, when a chain or a rope thrown 
around a bush at the ground level is drawn tight by a team or 
a tractor the shoots of the bush usually will bend over and allow 
the rope to slip off without disturbing the crown. The use of a 
crowbar in addition to the chain has been found very effective. The 
chain is looped around the base of the bush and the crowbar forced 
into the ground within the loop on the side opposite the team. The 
handle of the crowbar is pulled away from the bush by one man as 
the team is started by another. The result usually is the removal of 
the entire crown with some of the supporting roots. This operation 
must always be followed by a careful digging of the remaining root 
fragments, as previously described. 
Dynamite has been used successfully at times. With a crowbar or 
an auger a hole is made from one side of the crown to a point about 
a foot and a half below its center. A quarter or a half stick of 
dynamite usually is sufficient to raise the bush from the ground. 
As with the other methods described, dynamiting always must be 
followed by grubbing to remove the remaining root fragments. 
The method actually employed in any particular locality depends 
upon several factors, such as the number of bushes, their average 
size, the type of soil, the season, and the means available. Where 
many fair-sized bushes are to be dug, it is always desirable to obtain 
the aid of a team or a tractor. A large barberry bush, however, is 
frequently more than a team can pull without the aid of grubbing 
or a block and tackle. Even the average tractor frequently is stalled 
by a well-developed bush. In such cases the work can be done 
more easily when the ground is soft following prolonged rains. 
Sometimes the crown can be cut into several sections by cutting 
vertically through it with the ax end of the grub hoe, and so divided 
into parts small enough for handling by a stout team or a tractor. 
Even with the expedient of cutting up the crown into segments, it 
sometimes is difficult to pull a bush when the ground is hard and dry. 
In such circumstances dynamite may be advisable. Dynamite also 
is of use in locations where traction can not be obtained, as on a 
steep bank. 
In all these methods of eradicating barberries it is desirable to 
pile and burn the bushes and roots. There are two reasons for this. 
One is that it does away with any possibility of the bush taking 
root and growing where it is left. The other is that it destroys any 
seeds on the bushes. There have been many instances where bushes 
