The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1911-09-13
should be made to stamp it out.

should be made to stamp it out.
Prof. L. H.. ,Pammel, botanist of tn
Iowa State College Experiment Sta
ton at Ames, makes the following
suggestions for the determination o.
this weed pest:
If the field is sown with oats il
should be given shallow blowing Al
soon as the crop is removed, anG
narrowed at least once q week dur.
ing the late summer and fall. Thi.
will destroy much of the quack gras,
by the end of the season. The field
can be put into corn the following
year.
If the quack grass has gotten a
start in the pasture, the method
followed in England by Prof. Spillman
may be adopted:
First, the sod is plowed, then it
is narrowed two or three times to
bring the quack grass root stocks to
the surface, then chain drag is run
over the land to roll the rootstocks
up, after which wagons with hay
frames are brought on and the roots
are removed by hand. Then the land
is plowed again and the same pro-
cess gone over with. After this has
been done from three to FIVE times
the land is practically free from the
rootstocks, and the rotation can be
run through without serious trouble
from quack grass"
Mr.. ]. S. Gates, of the Office of
Farm Management, has made care
full study of quack grass for some
years past, and has developed very
much simpler and less expensive
method than the above, method,
however, which is not applicable to
all situations. Mr.. Gates method is
based on the following principles:
IF the quack grass sod be left
undisturbed, as would be the case in
meadow or pasture, for two years,
the grass meanwhile being. cut for
hay or kept down by pasturing, all of
the deep lying rootstocks decay, and
the new ones that form are all within
two or two and a half inches of the
surface. After this condition has been
brought about, if the field is plowed
just deep enough to turn up all of
the rootstocks, which will usually be
two to two and a half inches, the
grass is very easy to kill. This
blowing should be done in midsum-
mer after haying time. A few har-
rowings after this shallow blowing
completely destroys quack grass I'M
less it happens to be very wet sea-
son, when the roots are kept alive
by the moisture.
It is of the greatest Importance
not to pillow deeper than necessary in
this work. If one plows, say four
inches deep, then the rootstocks must
be narrowed out from the depth or
they will take root and grow again.
If the blowing is only two inches
deep the frequent harrowings keep
the rootstocks from connecting with
the subsoil until they have complete
ly persisted.
We have found a good many New
England farmers who had dropped
on to this method of killing quack
grass, and they no longer consider it
as serious menace"
Another method is to pillow the sod
at least six inches deep. Experience
has shown that quack grass roots do
not penetrate through the soil much
beyond a depth of fea1 or five inches,
very few going beyond six inches.
The following season sow with grain.
After the grain is removed pillow the
land and harrow in such way as to
get all the roots on the surface, and
repeat the disking and narrowing as
often as the grass occurs, once a
week If necessary.