Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1921-07-01
BY Intensive Farming, the Hay
Seed Editor Completely Killed
Quack Grass From F lift Y
Acres On An Abandoned Farm
Were the Quack Had Grown
Solid

In the year 1906 | was farming on
rented land in Iowa. Having built up
a reputation as an intensive. thorough
farmer, my banker came to me one
day and said. "EmmOnS, l have an
abandoned quack grass farm that has
beaten every man who has tried to
farm it. for years. For three years it
has been left untenanted and I'm
touched | want to fix up the build
ings and | want you to go up there
this fall and break the high land and
put it to corn and NOW the balance
of the land early and make it into
hay | will give you free rent of the
place for the extra work on the corn
land Will you take it?'
| AS this tanker had befriended me
| in many ways before, | looked his prop
| OsitiOn over and accepted it. He was
offered $3.50 for the quarter that fall
but he'h it at $4,000 per acre.
| I went up late that fall and broke
| between 80 and GO acres of the quack
| and broke it as thin as | could, and
| turned a good clean furrOw. The land
/
the freezing Of the roots weakened
| them. In the spring / disked the land
and dragged it once. Then | plOwed
| it. driving cross ways to the fall break
| ing. The fOur-cOrnered chunks were
| III evidence as they used to be when
| breaking was black set in the early
| days of Iowa. / rolled these chunks
1 = Il
so | had fine seed bed for corn. At
| ter blowing. | disked the field thor
Oughly and dragged it over | then
| planted it to corn and by changing
| teams | kept the planter going from
four O'Clock in the morning until eight
at night. / then hitched four horses
onto a fOur-shOvel Dutch Uncle"
riding cultivatOr took off the springs
and let the pillow dig deep. | tied a
section of leveling harrow on behind
and set it just so that it would clear
itself After this follow blowing"
dragged it crossways and in a couple
| of days the corn came through fine
| ground clear as a whistle except for
an almost solid mat Of dead quack
grass roots. | cultivated the corn four
times by changing teams and the quack
never showed up. | raised as good a
crop as the best farmers of the neigh
bOrhOOd on that land in the wet. cold
year Of 1907. the year many we'll re-
member as having no summer.
The next spring | pl0wed the same
land and put it back in corn. People
came miles to see that field and | had
the reputation of being the only man
in the country who could handle
quaak The people of that section
found that it could be done. but the
watch-word must always be thorough
ness"
The farm sold the second fall for
$40 per acre. as I had not only killed
the quack on that field but I kept the
fence rows moved clean, and the farm
in order.
During 1907 and 1898 there was no
advance in the price of land in Iowa.
due to the hard times of those years
This advance was due to 1000 worth
of improvements put on by the land
lord. and to my work.
Now is the time to get busy on the
few quack grass patches. and patches
of any other foul grass, or weeds, and
let's keep our county clear Of these
| things from now on. Everyone should
get together on this project this fall
and clear their farms of these pests.
|