Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1883-08-25
How to Exterminate sedge Grass.
BY PROF. JOHN W. GLENN.

method for destroying sedge grass,
Before reading that article, or knows
ing the methods which had been tried
by Col. Charlton, l stated that this
grass could be easily (meaning effectu-
ally suppressed.
Any one farmer may keep it sup
pressed by the plan which | suggest
below, and if all the land.holders of a
neighborhood or country will act in
earnest, it can, in short time, be ex-
terminated.
If practicable, let it be moved be,
fore the seed are matured and scattered
to the fence corners, or other protect
ing hooks. Let this be done the second
time, not so late as to prevent the grass
from shooting up in the fall. Soon
after FROST when the dead grass has
dried, on some calm day. promising
perfect control of the flames, let it all
be carefully and thoroughly burned.
Then let the roots by turning plow
be exposed to the freezes of the winter,
and very little of the sedge or broom
grass will be found in that neighbour
hood the next year. If any should
appear, the experiment of moving and
burning can be repeated with very
little labor, as the area covered will be
very small. | have seen this method
tried with success many times.
To suppress it, in meadows or pas
lures, moving will be generally sufi'
cient, until the better grasses need
resettingand the ground needs stirring.
Then proceed as above.
We commonly, in this country, lei
our pastures run too long anyhow.
without change or culture, and nature
indicates this whenever the sedge grass
smothers out our better grasses in spite
of the moving blade.
Sedge grass is emphatically the lazy
mans grass, and the farmer is pretty
sure to have this whenever he is to-
INDECENT or too careless to have an,
other. 1t is possible for us to live Oh
the coarse products of nature, but w
want something better, and we ar
willing to work for it.
Nature presents us the sedge gras
in this country, and we can displace
by superior grass only by care ant
labor. While it is very coarse pre-
duct, and a great nuisance to thos
who desire to produce something NOR
valuable, l cannot consientiousl
recommend its determination until W
are ready to substitute somethin
better. Our lands here have bee
fearfully leached and washed already
This grass will hold them in position
and aid very materially in renovatin
them. Besides, if it is burned ever
fall, the seed will not spread so as to d
any very great harm, and valuabl
pasture on such lands will be furnishe
to cattle and sheep during man
months of the following season.
Understand, we have no love fC
sedge grass, and urge farmers to di
place it as soon as practicable with
grass more palatable or nutriciou
Still, sheep do thrive on it, when it
young and tender, and thousands
cattle are sustained by it all SUNNI
in the States south of us.
1t is absurd to think of destroying
without injury to the other grasses
lime, stable manure, or anything
that sort, when we know it is at HON
and much harder than those we won
protect. Until We are ready to destro
let us control and utilize it. Most a
parent curses can be made real bles
ings with proper thought and labC
Most forces of nature are curses VIII
they dominate man, but blessings VIII
they are subservient to him. To ST
jugate sedge grass let us call to our
consuming fire.
This, no doubt, is fearfully hete
dox, andprobahly some scientists wor
think / should be excluded fIom tn
ranks, when propose to destroy a
monia and change organic to morgan
matter by fire; when, as they say,
organic matter is needed so much
our poor lands. Yet, Mr.. Editor