18G5.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
341 
-5i ^ .V 
Gettingf Rid of Couch or ftnack Grass. 
(TrittcuTfi rcpenn.) 
L. S. Phillips, Ouondaira Co., N. Y., inquires 
of ihe Agriculturist : " How can I best subdue 
an acre now filled with Quack grass?"' By 
"Quack-grass" our correspondent undoubtedly 
means Couch-grass, Triticinn repens>. The com- 
mon name accepted by European and American 
authorities is Couch-grass, aud though in some 
localities it is called by other names, such as 
Quack, Quick, Quitch, and Twitch, we prefer to 
adhere to the established name. Couch-grass. If 
the grass has taken complete possession of the 
soil — as it usually does in a few years — thus 
forming a tough, thick and dense mass of large 
roots, the quickest way of exterminating it 
is the following : Plow the land ten inches 
deep, in late autumn, with a strong plow that 
will turn a deep aud wide fun-ow. — The plow 
should run beneath most of the roots, in order 
to turn up the entire mass to the influences of 
winter. If the ground is plowed with a Slichi- 
gan sod plow, or any other plow having a 
"skim plow" on the same beam — like Allen's 
Cylinder plow — a strong team will be required, 
as any plow will draw heavily when the share 
runs through, and not below the roots. The 
plow should have a sharp share, and a long 
coulter, with a sharp point and edge. Other- 
wise it will be impracticable to plow ground 
well that is full of the tough roots. If the 
plowing is not well performed, it ma}' as well 
not be done at all, because, no poor jjlowing 
will ever exterminate Couch-grass. If there are 
stones or other obstructions in the soil to throw 
out the plow, thus making balks, the plowman 
must back and break them all up. 
As soon as the young grass begins to give a 
green appearance to the field, the next spring, 
take a good cultivator, having sharp teeth, and 
cultivate the ground well every two weeks, un- 
til it is time to sow buckwheat, when three 
pecks per .acre should be put in. It will be of 
little use to Itnrrow the ground, as harrow teeth 
will not cut off the young grass. As soon as 
the buckwheat is cut and set up in stooks, cul- 
tivate the ground twice, thoroughly, and contin- 
ue to do so as often as the grass grows 3 or 4 
inches high, till winter. The stooks of buck- 
wheat may best be removed from the cultivated 
ground in order to keep the grass subdued 
while the buckwheat is curing. 
The next season, if much yet remains in 
the soil, summer fallow the ground, and rake 
out the roots with a couch-grass rake, represent- 
ed by the accompanying il- 
lustration. The head is made 
of a piece of hard wood, 4 
or 5 feet long, by 4 inches 
square ; in this is set a 
tongue, braced with two 
strong iron rods to hold it 
firmly, as represented. Some 
old woi'u out plow will fur- 
nish a set of handles, the 
lower ends of which should 
be beveled and bolted to the 
upper side of the head ; fast- 
en an iron brace on the un- 
der side of each. The teeth 
are made of the best Swedish 
iron, I'la Inches wide, by ^|a 
of an inch thick, drawn to 
a point, and hammered to 
a coulter edge on the for- 
ward side. The upper ends 
are made with a strong nut 
and shoulder-brace, as represented by the en- 
larged figure of a tooth, at the right hand side of 
the engravmg. The teeth are about ten inches 
long below the head. The holes for tha shank 
should be bored "It of an inch from the for- 
ward side of the head, and the holes to receive 
the rounded end of the tooth brace should be 
only 1 inch deep, so that the ends of the braces 
will extend to the bottom against the solid 
wood. If there are roots of trees aud stumps, 
or fast stoues in .a field, the teeth may be made 
heavier; although with careful usage, the size 
designated will make the r.ike heavy enough 
and sufficiently strong. The hilts of the handles 
should be so low that a man can stand erect 
and just grasp them with his hands, when the 
teeth are in the ground and the end of the 
tongue as high as the neck -yoke. If the handles 
are too high, it will be much harder work to 
hold the rake aud to lift it, when the mass of 
roots is to be dropped. 
Before using such a rake, the ground must be 
plowed as directed, in order to allow the sod 
sufiicient tiiue to decay. Let the roots be drop- 
ped in windrows, .and then raked in large bunch- 
es. They contain much starch and are excel- 
lent hog feed, and m.ay be so used, or hauled 
together in big heaps to rot for manure, in- 
stead of dropping them in the highway. Where 
the ground can not be reached, near stumps, etc., 
with the horse rake, it should be spaded, and 
the roots hauled out with potato hooks. If 
the soil is mellow and the sod well rotted, a 
wheel hay rake, with iron teeth will operate 
well, though not as effectually as the rake 
made for the purpose, as here described. 
Amount of Seed Wheat for an Acre. 
Ever}' wheat plant requires for its fair devel- 
opment an area of about 16 square inches, or a 
piece of ground 4 inches square. There are in 
an acre of land 4.8,560 square feet. Each square 
foot contains 9 of these 4-ineh squares, hence is 
capable of sustaining 9 wheat plants ; and so we 
have 392,040 as the number of wheat plants 
that will grow advantageousl}' on an acre of 
good hand. In a bushel of wheat with kernels 
of fair size, there arc about 630,000 grains. If 
these be unifirmly distributed over one acre, 
there will be about 15 kernels on every square 
foot, or a fraction more than 9 square inches, or 
an area of 3 inches square, for each kernel. Did 
the wheat plant produce only one st.alk and 
head, this would not be too thick. But, as we 
may expect every plant to tiller that is, produce 
from 1 to 5, 10, or more stems, if all these ker- 
nels should grow, the straw would be so thick 
thiit the ears of wheat would be short and small, 
and the grain also of a diminutive size. But, 
in practice, we find that there is a failure some- 
where ; for if we use no more seed, the grain will 
not stand thick enough on the ground. What 
then becomes of the seed ? — aud how much 
must we use? Much depends on the size of 
the kernels, the number that will vegetate, the 
condition of the soil, and the manner of putting 
in the seed. Some kernels often are nearly 
twice as large as others. When kernels are 
small, of course less seed is required, and vice 
versa. If the grain has been threshed with a 
machine which has bruised the kernels, more 
seed is necessary than if threshed with a flail 
or whipped out, which is the best way to thresh 
for seed. When it is put in with a good drill, 
less seed will be required than if sowed broad- 
cast. When the soil is rich, an acre will require 
less seed than if the ground is in a poor state of 
fertility, for the richer the soil is, the more the 
plants will tiller. One bushel of good seed per 
acre, well put into a rich soil,^is enough. Mak- 
ing suitable .allowances for imperfections al- 
luded to, it is advisable to increase the amount 
sometimes to 21 bushels per acre. Usually 
about 2 bushels is the advisable quantity. If 
plants have room to tiller when the soil is fer- 
tile, thin seeding will yield as much as thick. 
»-. m» m I ■ 
The stable Brush Broom. 
Every man who has a stable and who values 
neatness, should have a good brush broom for 
sweeping the floor, after the bulk of the manure 
has been removed with a fork. The engraving 
accompanyi n g 
this article will 
furnish the rea- 
der with a cor- 
rect notion of 
such a broom. 
The head piece 
should be .about 
16 inches long, 
and li inches 
squ.are, with a 
rake or other 
handle set in it. 
Holes, bored 
.alternately in 
two rows, pass 
through the 
head, as shown, 
and into each 
some sjjrigs of 
straight bush are crowded, and fastened with 
shingle nails driven through the head. The 
brush of birch or beech trees, or of iron-wood, 
or small sprouts from apple trees, will make 
an excellent broom, which will be found very 
convenient for m.any other purposes. In- 
stead of the brush, pieces of small rattan may 
be used. When the brash is worn out, the stubs 
can be driven out, and new pieces inserted. 
How to Plow Wet Ground in Autumn. 
BRUSH BEOOM. 
All wet ground ought to be underdrained; 
then it can be plowed and worked .at any desir- 
able tiiue. Through laclc of labor and means, 
it is seldom practicable to do in one season 
all the draining that should be done, and many 
'fields must be plowed and cultivated where the- 
soil is decidedly too wet. It is well to knovr 
in what manner to best plow such wet fields. 
