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 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
p. B. CRANE. 
 
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QUACK GRASS 
 
 ERADICATION 
 
 Prepared Especially for Farmers Desirous of Destroying this 
 Dangerous Pest 
 
 BY 
 
 P. B. CRANE 
 
 FIRST EDITION 
 

 co^a^ 
 
 Copyright, 1910 
 
 by 
 
 WEBB PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 ST. PAUL, MINN. 
 
 @.CIA265653 
 
PUBLISHERS' NOTE. 
 
 For many years thinking agriculttirists have 
 been watching with great apprehension the 
 rapidly increasing growth and spread of the 
 weed known as quack grass. A few years ago 
 this pest was only found in scattered sections 
 of the northern part of the United States, and on 
 isolated farms, but today there are whole town- 
 ships and coimties that are almost totally in- 
 fested with the weed. When quack grass takes 
 possession of land, the growing of profitable 
 crops is almost out of the question. To acquaint 
 those farmers, who are unfamiliar with quack 
 grass, with the seriousness of this pest and to 
 offer suggestions as to its eradication, is the 
 purpose of this booklet. 
 
 We know of just one man in the United States 
 who has completely and absolutely killed, at will, 
 any considerable quantity of quack grass. We 
 say absolutely killed for the reason that there 
 are many experimenters who have been partially 
 
successful along this line. That man is Mr. P. B. 
 Crane of Long Lake, Minn. The result of his 
 work has been carefully scrutinized by competent 
 agricultural experts who have given the result 
 of his work unquaHfied approval. Up imtil 
 this time, however, his process has been unknown, 
 Mr. Crane having formerly made it a practice to 
 contract eradication of quack grass and to sell 
 information concerning the process. For the 
 benefit of those farmers who have quack-infested 
 farms at this time, we have persuaded Mr. Crane 
 to publish in book form the results of his in- 
 vestigations, combining with his experience all 
 other known information about the weed. 
 
 It has been our endeavor to pubHsh herewith 
 a book which will give full information about 
 quack grass, not only the ideas of Mr. Crane, 
 whose experience we can heartily commend and 
 verify, but the experience of other practical farm- 
 ers. It should be noted, however, that Mr. Crane 
 is the only one of these experimentors who 
 claims and has demonstrated complete eradica- 
 tion. Reference is also given in these pages to 
 other sources of information, with an idea of 
 making this book a complete compendium on 
 the subject of eradication of this troublesome 
 pest. 
 
In the hope that this collaboration of expe- 
 rience will meet with the approval of practical 
 farmers, and that they will put these suggestions 
 given into practice, we are, 
 
 Very truly, 
 
 THE PUBLISHERS. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 What Is Quack Grass? — Hay. Identit3\ Comparison. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 How Quack Grass Grows. — Seeds. How Introduced. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Principles of Eradication. — Different ^Methods. 
 
 CHAPTER lY. 
 My Story. — Discouragement. Final Success. Nature's 
 Restorative. Rotation of Crops. Feeding the Soil. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The Crane System of Quack Grass Eradication. — Its 
 
 Accomplishments. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Eradication Methods. — Cultivation. When to Cultivate. 
 How to Cultivate. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 Eradication with Spray and Cultivation. — Formula for 
 Spray. Use of Spray. Time to Spray. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Miscellaneous Suggestions. — Cultivation at Different 
 Seasons. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Other Methods.— Tar Paper. Smother Crops^ etc. 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 A Few Statements Concerning the Efficiency of Mr. 
 Crane's Method. — A List of Standard Agricultural 
 Books. 
 
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 I. 
 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 WHAT IS QUACK GRASS? 
 
 A Plant Out of Place. — It has been said 
 that a weed is but a plant out of place, or a 
 plant for which no good use has been found. 
 Quack grass is this kind of a weed, especially in 
 those agricultural sections of the United States 
 where mixed farming is pursued, and the grow- 
 ing of an occasional crop is the rule. Quack 
 grass, together with the wild wheat grasses, 
 to which it is closely related, is found in many 
 sections of the United States. Like the wheat 
 grasses, it is a valuable plant in semi-arid sections 
 where the obtaining of a permanent stand of 
 grass is desired, and where it is difficult to grow 
 the ordinary tame grasses. 
 
 Quack Grass Hay is quite nutritious, and quack 
 grass pasture is apparently relished by all kinds 
 of stock. There are some sections of the country 
 where quack grass might become a valuable 
 plant as a regular crop, but in the regions where 
 mixed farming is pursued, it is certainly a plant 
 out of place, and must at all times be considered 
 as a very dangerous weed which a farmer will 
 
Fig-. 1. Quack grass (Agropyron repens Beauv.). (a) 
 spikelet; (b) parts of spikelet displayed; (2) empty 
 g-lumes. (Div. of Agros. U. S. Dept. Agrl.) (Bulletin 83, 
 Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa.) 
 
WHAT IS QUACK GRASS? 11 
 
 allow to grow on his farm at his peril. Backed 
 by its wonderful root system, it will survive al- 
 most any kind of unfavorable weather or soil 
 conditions where it would be a most difficult 
 problem for other plants to live, and it is so well 
 equipped for a hard life that it will almost totally 
 occupy rich land and crowd out and choke all 
 other tame grasses, small grains and even a 
 com crop. 
 
 A Perennial. — Quack grass belongs to that class 
 of plants that are known as perennials, the name 
 which designates plants that live over from year 
 to year, starting from seed and developing leafage 
 the first season and storing up a food supply in 
 the roots to carry the plant over winter. This 
 is in marked contrast to the growth of such annual 
 plants as start from seed, make all their growth 
 in one season and die after producing a crop. 
 Quack grass is therefore doubly dangerous on 
 account of its long-Hved characteristics. It 
 has been a dangerous and troublesome weed in 
 Europe for a great many years, causing vastly 
 increased expense of operating farm land. With 
 our increased labor expense over European con- 
 ditions the pest is a far greater problem here 
 than abroad. 
 
12 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 Judging from its characteristiCvS and habitat, 
 quack grass seems to be essentially a northern 
 weed, being most persistent in the northern tier 
 of states. It is so cosmopolitan in its taste, 
 however, that it is reaching farther south every 
 year, and may soon be nearly as troublesome in 
 the corn belt as it is in the small grain states. 
 
 Identity. — Quack grass is known to the 
 scientists as agropyron repens. It is quite 
 often confused with a number of other grasses, 
 especially the wheat grasses, to which family 
 in fact it does belong. Without entering into a 
 long discussion or description of these plants, 
 we are publishing herewith photographs of quack 
 grass plants and roots, and also photographs of 
 other plants with which it is commonly confused. 
 
 Those who are suspicious of harboring these 
 plants on their farms should make it a point to 
 study the photographs published herewith, and 
 positively identify the weed with which they 
 have to contend. 
 
 Most of the experiment stations have pub- 
 lished bulletins containing photographs of 
 these different weeds. If the reader is at all in 
 doubt as to the particular weed he has on his 
 place, we would advise taking a specimen of the 
 
Fig- 2. Heads of (1) quack grass; notice how mucli closer 
 'the spikelets are than in (2) rye grass; (3) true sweet 
 vernal; (4) bromus. 
 
14 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 stalk, seed and roots of the weed and sending it to 
 the agronomist at the nearest experiment station. 
 Comparison. — With reference to the different 
 plants confused with quack grass, Prof. A. D. 
 Wilson, of the Minnesota Experiment Station, has 
 written the following description which appeared 
 in a 1908 issue of The Farmer : 
 
 ''There are often other plants that are taken 
 for quack grass, either by the similarity of the 
 heads or by the fact that they have underground 
 stems or root stalks. Rye grass has a head 
 somewhat similar to quack (See Figure 2), but 
 the two may usually be identified by the fact that 
 the spikelets on the head of the rye grass are 
 farther apart than on the head of the quack 
 grass. Each spikelet on the quack grass extends 
 past the base of the head next higher on the same 
 side of the head, while in rye grass each spikelet 
 does not reach the base of the spikelet about it 
 (See Figure 2). Rye grass is a plant rather com- 
 monly used for a hay crop, especially farther 
 west where the seasons are usually dry. It 
 does not make as good quality of hay as does 
 timothy or bromus. It is not hard to destroy 
 as it has no root stalks and may be distinguished 
 from quack grass by the fact that its roots are 
 fine and fiberous, similar to timothy roots. 
 
Fig-. 3. Root and head of holy grass, commonly called 
 sweet vernal because sweet scented and often mistaken 
 for quack grass in the spring before heading, as it has 
 root stalks. 
 
16 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 ' 'Another grass commonly called sweet vernal, 
 though not truely sweet vernal (See Figure 3), 
 is very often taken for quack grass as it has simi- 
 lar underground root stalks. This grass is 
 usually recognized by its sweet, spicy odor and 
 is certainly distinguished from quack grass by 
 it bushy, panicled head, so different from the 
 straight spike of the quack grass. 
 
 "Bromus, a cultivated grass quite commonly 
 grown for hay or pasturage, may sometimes 
 be mistaken for quack grass, especially when small. 
 Bromus is rather persistent and after a meadow 
 or pasture of bromus is plowed it often starts in 
 thick bimches, in the spring, very similar to 
 quack grass and the two are not easily told apart 
 at this stage, as both have undergroimd root 
 stalks. Bromus may be recognized, however, 
 by its broader leaf, and when heads appear, by 
 its broadly spreading panicle (See Figure 2) . 
 
 ''Another class of plants known as muhlen- 
 bergia is sometimes mistaken for quack grass, 
 but plants of this class may be told with reason- 
 able accuracy by their scaly root stalks. (See 
 Figure 4.) The heads also are sufficiently dif- 
 ferent to identify them. (See Figures 1 and 4). " 
 
Fig-. 4. Roots and heads of one of the muhlenbergias. 
 roots' of all are similar. Note scaly root stalk. 
 
 The 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 HOW QUACK GRASS GROWS. 
 
 Seeds. — Quack grass is usually introduced onto 
 a farm either through the purchase of grass and 
 grain seed or the purchase of hay containing 
 quack. In buying hay a farmer should always 
 be very careful to ascertain whether it comes 
 from a quack grass farm. Quack grass seeds 
 will not all be destroyed by feeding the hay to 
 live stock, and if there is any seed in the hay 
 the chances are that the farmer will later have 
 some strange plants on his farm which he will, 
 in time, identify as quack grass. 
 
 Caution. — Until we have pure grain seed laws, 
 when a farmer can tell exactly what he is buying, 
 he is never safe from the introduction of quack 
 grass on his farm. It is most often found in 
 grass seed, and especially in timothy. While 
 the seed is in the husk it is somewhat of the shape 
 and size of blue grass seed or EngUsh rye grass, 
 When the kernel shells out the naked seed is 
 about the size of timothy, but longer, and is 
 very likely to slip through without being detected. 
 We reproduce here the photographs of the seed, 
 
HOW QUACK GRASS GROWS. 
 
 19 
 
 both with and without the husk. Look to 
 your grass seed and do not plant any with quack 
 in. This is the first step in prevention. 
 
 Fig;. 5. Seeds of (1) quack grass, 
 sing-le; (2) quack grass with two or 
 inore seeds as they grew. They 
 were not separated wlien shelled. 
 They often appear together in this 
 
 •• manner. (3) Pigeon grass. 
 
 How Introduced. — Quack grass may be in the 
 hay purchased from neighbors. It may be 
 brought on the farm in screenings. The drop- 
 pings of animals pastured on quack grass may start 
 the pest, or it may creep under the fence from the 
 neighbors. Once quack grass gets into a com- 
 mimity it soon gets the visiting habit and tries 
 to take up its abode on every farm in that com- 
 munity. It is doubly dangerous on account 
 of the insidious manner in which it works its 
 
20 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 way onto the land of our good farms, getting a 
 strong foothold before its presence is detected. 
 
 The Tremendous Importance of Checking this 
 weed at its first appearance, we cannot empha- 
 size too strongly. A Httle job of hand digging 
 may do the work at the start, but once the patches 
 begin to appear over the farm, more vigorous 
 measures must be undertaken and some of the 
 remedies mentioned in this book adopted. 
 
 There are very few men in the country who 
 can say that they have killed quack grass. Some 
 by tremendous energy and expense, have sub- 
 dued it to the point where they can grow a profit- 
 able crop for one year, but complete eradication is 
 another matter. As long as a single root remains 
 in the soil a constant fight must be waged. 
 
 The Wisconsin Experiment Station estimates 
 that it costs $30 an acre to exterminate quack grass 
 by ordinary cultural methods. These methods have 
 usually proven impractical in the hands of the 
 average farmer. We believe that with the ordi- 
 nary methods in use it will cost far more than this 
 amoimt, and every farmer knows that the depre- 
 ciation in the value of land known to be infested 
 is more than the above amoimt. 
 
 A Blessing in Disguise.— Quack grass is not 
 without its merits. It has been called by some 
 
HOW QUACK GRASS GROWS. 21 
 
 of our authorities a blessing in disguise. It is 
 one of those perennial weeds that finds its best 
 chance to grow on the farm where there is not 
 a proper rotation of crops; in other words, on the 
 farm of the soil robber. Weeds of this kind are 
 Nature's rebuke to the man who believes in con- 
 tinuous cultivation of land and who never gives 
 the soil a rest by seeding down. 
 
 It is an actual fact that land which has been 
 cursed with quack grass, when reclaimed, is in an 
 exceedingly fertile condition, the mass of decayed 
 roots and the rest given to the soil having prac- 
 tically rejuvenated it. Nature has merely fol- 
 lowed her usual course of rotating crops and build- 
 ing up the fertility of the soil by adding humus 
 and stored plant food in the shape of roots. 
 
 A Reclaimed quack grass farm is usually in 
 almost a virgin state of fertility and will pay good 
 interest by way of increased crops for the labor 
 and loss of time spent in eradication. We 
 believe a farmer should not rest content with 
 anything short of complete eradication, such as 
 Mr. Crane has made possible. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 PRINCIPLES OF ERADICATION. 
 
 In the eradication of perennial weeds there 
 are two principal points to consider: 
 
 First, the elimination of the stalk and leaves, 
 or all above ground growth. 
 
 Second, the destruction of all roots. 
 
 Annual Weeds are as a rule easily destroyed 
 by simple cultivation, or the putting of land into 
 cultivated crops. Barley is a useful crop to 
 handle in connection with winter annual weeds. 
 
 A Perennial plant, with an extensive root sys- 
 tem, is an entirely different proposition. In 
 a perennial plant, the stalk and leaves are mere- 
 ly the stomach of the plant. True it is that we 
 can keep down growth by shutting off the stomach 
 of the roots and starving them to death, but it 
 is a difficult task. 
 
 As long as a single spear of grass can show 
 itself to the sun or to the air, just so long will the 
 roots retain their vitality. Our aim must there- 
 fore be to entirely smother and rot them in the 
 soil. 
 
PRINCIPLES OF ERADICATION. 23 
 
 Of the Different Methods of eradication which 
 give partial success, we would especially mention 
 those methods that are based on the starvation 
 of the roots : namely, the use of smother crops or 
 bare fallowing. If a farmer wishes to completely 
 eradicate quack grass from his farm, he must make 
 up his mind to do a most thorough job. He 
 will, by fallowing, lose the use of that land for 
 one year. 
 
 Eradication of quack grass requires effectual 
 work and there is no use in temporizing with it. 
 It can be partially subdued and a crop grown, 
 but it creeps in from year to year and will always 
 be an annoyance. A large share of the recent 
 spread of quack grass can be directly traced to 
 this cherished habit that farmers have of try- 
 ing to eradicate quack grass and attempting a 
 profitable crop at the same time. The crop 
 very seldom turns out in a satisfactory manner. 
 The quack grass is merely tickled by cultiva- 
 tion into further vigor, and the results are un- 
 satisfactory all around. 
 
 Farmers who are in dead earnest in their efforts 
 to eradicate quack grass, can do so by the care- 
 ful following of the Crane System. Further- 
 more, it will pay them to do this, even though 
 they lose the use of the land for that year. This 
 
PRINCIPLES OF ERADICATION. 25 
 
 is not necessary in all cases, however. In the 
 first place they will be completely freed from 
 the pest, and in the next place their land will 
 be in so much finer mechanical condition, being 
 mellow, fertile, and having all the plant food 
 in the top soil available, that the increase in crops 
 the following year on clean land will surely more 
 than pay for the work of eradication. 
 
 Of the different methods of eradication, we 
 would suggest those outlined below as the most 
 practical to follow, which methods are described 
 more in detail in later pages of this book, 
 
 Bare Fallowing. — Bare fallowing is the sys- 
 tem most commonly advocated; in other words, 
 the laying aside of a piece of land to be plowed 
 in early summer before the quack grass has gone 
 to seed and continuously replowed and harrowed 
 throughout a growing season. This bare fal- 
 lowing is ordinarily supposed to kill any weed, 
 but unless the cultivator is especially faithful 
 to his task, quack grass will elude him. 
 
 Smother Crops. — The use of smother crops 
 is commonly advocated. Even the most en- 
 thusiastic advocates of this method do not 
 assert that it will give complete eradication. 
 The growing of buckwheat, sorghum, millet, 
 clover, hemp and other foliage plants that shade 
 
26 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 the ground, will keep quack grass in subjection 
 during that season and thus possibly do good, 
 but the roots which persist in the ground will 
 quickly recuperate, and thrive with their original 
 vigor the next season. Of this method we shall 
 have more to say in later pages of this book. 
 
 The Crane System. — Mr. Crane's system of 
 complete eradication differs from other methods, 
 in that it gives complete eradication of quack 
 grass without damage to the land and without 
 great expense, as is invariably the case with 
 other haphazard methods. This method con- 
 sists simply in turning quack grass sod roots 
 under the ground to the point where they will 
 not do any harm, and keeping them there by 
 persistent cultivation, according to prescribed 
 methods, until the roots have decayed. A 
 dry season is supposed to be the proper time to 
 kill quack grass, and the use of fallowing and 
 other methods depend upon dry seasons. On 
 the contrary, Mr. Crane's method does not de- 
 pend upon the season to any great extent. Of 
 the results of his method there can be no question ; 
 the expressions of experts who have kept his 
 fields under continuous inspection being sufficient 
 evidence along this Hne. Not only has the 
 method proven a success on Mr. Crane's own farm. 
 
PRINCIPLES OF ERADICATION. 27 
 
 but it has proven likewise successful in the hands 
 of other farmers. In the subsequent chapters 
 of this book, Mr. Crane tells the story in his own 
 words. It is the story of a practical farmer, 
 who, by continuous experimentation, and after 
 sad experience, has absolutely cleaned his farm 
 of this weed, which was formerly so abundant 
 that the place was known as ''The Quack Grass 
 Farm." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 MY STORY. 
 
 Credentials. — In order to give the proper 
 credentials to the practical farmers who read this 
 book, I will say that I have been in close touch 
 with farm matters all my life, and most of my 
 time has been spent in actual tilling of the soil. 
 
 I was born in Milwaukee, Wis., March 6th, 
 1847, moved to Minnesota in 1869, and spent 
 my early life on a farm in Chippewa County, 
 Minnesota. In later years I conceived the 
 idea of making a fortune in the city, but after 
 a heavy loss by fire in 1897, I went back to my 
 first love — the farm. 
 
 The Last Farm which I purchased was in 
 Hennepin county, Minnesota, near Long Lake. 
 I knew that the soil w^as a heavy clay loam and 
 capable of producing first-class crops. 
 
 I did not know anything about quack grass, 
 however, but after my purchase was made, be- 
 came acquainted with the fact that the farm 
 was very badly infested. 
 
 It did not take me very many years to find 
 out that if I did not get rid of quack grass on that 
 
.-:% 
 
 
MY STORY. 31 
 
 farm, the quack grass would take complete pos- 
 session and run me off the place. 
 
 I Became so Discouraged that I could not sleep 
 nights. The farm was mortgaged, and quack 
 grass was getting more of a hold every day. 
 I fairly cursed these roots from morning to night 
 and loathed working among them; in fact, it 
 was the most discouraging task I ever under- 
 took. After most thoroughly cultivating and 
 disking a field, in three or four days it would 
 again begin to look green with a new growth of 
 grass. 
 
 Final Success. — Under such conditions can 
 you wonder that I was compelled to study this 
 pest, and by different methods seek to eradicate 
 it? Can you wonder that I am anxious to tell 
 other farmers of my final success after many years 
 of careful work? 
 
 My fields today are open to the inspection of 
 anyone who cares to look at them, and they 
 are as free from quack grass, and all other serious 
 weeds, as was the virgin soil. Moreover, they 
 are in the best state of fertility that they have 
 ever been since the land was originally broken up. 
 My land, in the condition which I found it, was 
 worth practically nothing for cropping purposes. 
 
32 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 I know of many other such farms that should 
 be worth $100 an acre, which can be rented to-day 
 absolutely free of charge if a man will merely 
 work them. 
 
 Today my farm is not only free of this weed, 
 but it is in the finest possible mechanical con- 
 dition, and I believe as fertile as it ever could be. 
 
 I have increased its value from practically 
 nothing, to $300.00 per acre. 
 
 This land was a solid mat of quack grass. 
 Today I have a ten acre apple orchard that is 
 entirely free from quack, also raspberries, straw- 
 berries and plums. This increased value is sole- 
 ly because of the eradication of quack grass. 
 
 I therefore feel no hesitation in advising my 
 fellow farmers on the same subject. 
 
 Since everything written has been taken from 
 my own personal experience, I know exactly 
 what I am talking about when I give advice and 
 instruction. All this information has been se- 
 cured by hard knocks with quack grass itself. 
 
 Nature's Restorative. — In these years while 
 I have been studying and fighting quack grass, 
 I have gleaned many other ideas on good farm- 
 ing. In the first place I have found out that 
 quack grass is really a soil builder. When a 
 
Fig-. 0. This twin elm tree stands on Mr. Crane's farm. 
 In early days it was used as a landmark for passersby. 
 and the farm was called the "Twin Elm Farm." Later 
 it became known as the "Quack Grass Farm." Since 
 eradicating- the quack grass it is again pronounced the 
 "Twin Elm Farm." 
 
34 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 man grows continuous crops of com and other 
 crops without putting back the proper compensa- 
 tion of fertiUty in the soil, he soon exhausts 
 this soil of humus and plant food which is so neces- 
 sary for the continuous growing of good crops. 
 Then Nature starts to growing perennial weeds, 
 such as quack grass and other weeds that have a 
 great root system. This mass of roots in the 
 soil gathers plant food and holds moisture, and 
 after dying and decaying again leaves in that soil 
 the good heart which was originally given to it 
 by the decaying crops of prairie grasses and forest 
 mold. Nature locks up plant food when we 
 farm land improperly. In other words it lacks 
 humus and is out of mechanical condition. 
 Grass roots restore this humus, unlock plant 
 food, and the soil again becomes in good mechani- 
 cal condition. I believe that some of our richest 
 land today can be found under quack grass sods. 
 
 Rotation of Crops. — In the next place I have 
 learned that a sensible rotation of crops is abso- 
 lutely essential in connection with good farming. 
 We must give land a rest by seeding down to 
 grass occasionally, especially the legumes which 
 not only leave an abimdance of roots in the soil, 
 but which take from the air nitrogen and put it 
 into the soil in the form of nitrates ready for sue- 
 
MY STORY. 35 
 
 ceeding crops. I have found that where a farmer 
 practices a three or five year rotation of crops, 
 which includes at least a year or two of grass, 
 and feeds out this roughage to live stock, putting 
 back the manure onto the grass land, he will keep 
 the soil in almost a continuous state of fertility, and 
 never find it necessary to purchase commercial 
 fertilizer. This is Nature's way of farming, and I 
 have observed that the closer we follow Nature, 
 the better we will come out financially in our 
 farming operations. 
 
 Feeding the Soil. — I have found that we must 
 feed the soil just as we feed our stock, and if we 
 feed the soil we must turn the farm into a factory, 
 sending off of it the finished products in the form 
 of meat and butter, and saving the by-product — 
 manure — and putting it onto the land before its 
 manurial value is wasted. I have foimd a 
 manure spreader a first-class investment for 
 my farm, and believe it pays for itself every 
 year. 
 
 If I have any rotten strawstacks, the refuse 
 goes back on the land. All manure is hauled 
 out and used for top dressing the meadows and 
 the grain fields immediately after the seeding 
 is done. By following this rotation of crops, 
 and the saving of all the manure, we keep all our 
 
36 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 capital — the fertility of the soil — right on the 
 farm, and clip off the coupons in the way of 
 finished products. 
 
 Cultivation is the foe of all weeds. The 
 greatest benefit I have received in fighting quack 
 grass has been the lesson of cultivation. By 
 turning over the soil by cultivation we liberate all 
 possible plant food, we warm the soil ; we mellow it; 
 we aerate it, and get it into the best possible con- 
 dition for a crop. No hard, lumpy condition of 
 the soil should be aUowed to exist. Disk the 
 land until you have pulverized the lumps. When 
 you have seeded the field, and the tiny root of 
 grain starts out in search of plant food, proper 
 cultivation will put that plant food right in its 
 path, but if it strikes a hard lump of earth which 
 the root cannot penetrate, right there the growth 
 is cut short. 
 
 The Eradication of Quack Grass is intimately 
 connected with good farming. I have noticed 
 that the richer your land, the easier it is to 
 eradicate quack grass. The poorer your land is, 
 and the less humus it contains, the harder it is to 
 eradicate quack grass. Therefore, when you 
 are working with this weed, always keep in mind 
 the enrichment of your soil. 
 
38 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 You could not find a more worthless forty 
 acre farm in Minnesota than was mine when I 
 purchased it. Today I do not believe you can 
 find a better forty in the state, and I challenge any 
 farmer to produce better crops than I will produce 
 on this re-claimed quack grass farm. I extend 
 a general invitation to every farmer interested 
 in this work, to visit the farm and see the results, 
 as I beUeve it is the only absolutely re-claimed 
 quack grass farm which exists today. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE CRANE SYSTEM OF QUACK GRASS 
 ERADICATION. 
 
 The Information which has been sent out from 
 the agricultural experiment stations, and through 
 the agricultural press, concerning the eradication 
 of quack grass, would fill volumes. I feel safe 
 in saying, however, that a great deal of this in- 
 formation has not been based upon the actual 
 experience of those giving tliis information. 
 There are very few people who from actual ex- 
 perience can say that they have subdued quack 
 grass to the point where they can raise profitable 
 crops, to say nothing of complete eradication. 
 Furthermore, the information disseminated has 
 been so conflicting and so imperfect in many cases 
 that the farmer seeking information has become 
 confused and disgusted to the point where he 
 believes that it is entirely impossible to absolutely 
 eradicate the pest. 
 
 As Originator of the ' ' Crane System * ' I claim 
 to be the only man living who has actually re- 
 claimed an abandoned quack grass farm, and to 
 have originated a practical system of eradication 
 
40 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 which can be followed by any farmer who cares 
 to study the matter and follow instructions. 
 
 The Fields on my farm at Long Lake, in Hen- 
 nepin County, Minnesota, which were completely 
 taken by a most vigorous stand of qua,ck grass, 
 can be inspected by anyone who cares to mske an 
 investigation; and I challenge anyone to produce 
 cleaner fields or a more perfect condition of the 
 soil. These fields have been repeatedly investi- 
 gated by competent experts whose testimony is 
 given in another portion of this book, and I have 
 at all times kept the standing offer to give $5.00 
 for any Hve root or spear of quack grass which 
 can be found on the fields so treated. 
 
 Quack grass is undoubtedly one of the worst 
 pests that the American farmer ever had to con- 
 tend with. On account of its extreme hardi- 
 ness, and its abiUty to thrive on most any kind 
 of soil or under most adverse conditions, it seems 
 almost an utter impossibility to destroy it. 
 Thousands of farmers have labored persistently 
 and continuously year after year, trying as best 
 they knew how, to kill, or at least check the growth 
 and further spread of its roots; but in spite of all 
 their toil and precaution Quack Grass has 
 made steady progress. It has spread from the 
 little green patch that was first discovered in the 
 
THE CRANE SYSTEM. 41 
 
 field, until it has entirely and completely covered 
 said field, and not being satisfied with that, 
 has continued its onward march across the Hne 
 into the adjoining fields, and along the highways 
 and the byways, and is rapidly creeping into every 
 nook and corner where vegetation grows, and will 
 continue to spread just as long as it is allowed 
 to exist. 
 
 Complete Eradication of quack grass is what 
 the American farmer wants today, and were I 
 not able to give you this, there would be no need 
 of this book. Many progressive tillers of the 
 soil can hold quack grass in subjection, and thereby 
 raise a fair crop on his land; but to accomplish 
 this one has to do a great deal of extra work every 
 year, and still the quack grass roots are sufficient- 
 ly numerous to again thoroughly sod the ground 
 the next season. 
 
 It is true that this cultivation is very bene- 
 ficial to the soil, and where you have applied a 
 proper system of cultivation I have no hesitancy 
 in stating that your field produced an increased 
 yield, and you were rejoiced in that you had 
 gotten a little the best of quack grass. I feel 
 safe is stating that thousands of farmers have ap- 
 plied sufficient cultivation to their quack grass 
 
42 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 fields to have completely eradicated the quack, 
 had this work been applied in the proper manner. 
 For seven years I struggled along in this man- 
 ner, and all of the time the quack was getting the 
 best of me. In 1902 I used a chemical solution 
 that was strong enough to kill the quack. I 
 applied this to the patches in the field, and those 
 patches are still visible, as it not only killed the 
 quack, but ruined the soil, and those patches are 
 barren today. 
 
 My next success was with a spray which would 
 check the growth of the plant so that it would 
 succumb to cultivation. This spray was applied 
 to the grass which was plowed under. Then 
 the groimd was thoroughly disked so as to form 
 a dust covering, or mulch, all over the surface of 
 the field. This served to conserve the moisture, 
 also to prevent the evaporation of the spray, 
 and where the disking was repeated every week 
 for seven weeks, the grass was completely gone, 
 and nothing but the dead and decayed roots re- 
 mained to tell the story. From this I learned 
 that quack grass could be killed by cultivation 
 alone; but cultivation without the spray takes 
 from two to four weeks more time. While it 
 takes more time and cultivation to kill it in this 
 manner, the extra cultivation is very beneficial 
 
THE CRANE SYSTEM. 43 
 
 to your land. I am sure that you will agree with 
 me (after you have killed your quack) that quack 
 grass has really proved a friend in saving your 
 soil fertility. 
 
 I have been a farmer for forty years in the 
 grand old state of Minnesota, and I am free to 
 confess that quack grass has taught me the best 
 lesson that I have ever learned, and that is, the 
 preparation of the soil for the planting of the seed. 
 
 I raised one hundred and six baskets of corn 
 to "the acre this season — 1909 — where the last 
 crop on said field only produced thirty baskets 
 off the five acres of ground. Quack grass had 
 previously choked out the crop completely. 
 
 When my system of eradication reclaims this 
 field that was abandoned from cultivation be- 
 cause of quack grass, and prepares the soil in 
 such condition that it will produce 106 baskets 
 of corn to the acre, I feel justified in saying that 
 quack grass has rejuvenated my land. No ferti- 
 lizer was used on this field, other than the quack 
 grass roots. The heavier the quack grass, the 
 more productive the soil. Show me a farm that 
 is heavily sodded with quack, and I will show 
 you a farm that is worth good money. 
 
 Quack grass is the best indicator of soil quaUty 
 of any plant that grows. Poor land, under a 
 
*- 
 
 i!mi.'^-i "JA^m^^A^AJ % il'^JMA ^k*SJ»i^^y:.k S3> 
 
THE CRANE SYSTEM. 45 
 
 poor system of cultivation is, comparatively 
 speaking, free from quack grass, while in good 
 land under a poor system of cultivation the quack 
 soon takes entire possession. 
 
 Quack grass lands that are abandoned from 
 cultivation and used for pasture or hay land, will, 
 in a few years, fail to produce very much forage. 
 Blue grass and white clover, will, apparently, take 
 its place. Should you plow this field, the quack 
 grass roots are there and will be the first to show 
 green on the fields, and will sgain produce a heavy 
 crop of hay, or supply a good pasture for a few 
 years. Now, if you wiU apply a good heavy 
 coat of manure as a top dressing, the quack 
 will be the first to respond. The more you en- 
 courage quack, the more you enrich your land 
 because of the additional roots produced which 
 become plant food in due course of time. 
 
 Quack grass is a surface plant, never growing 
 more than three, or in extreme cases, four inches 
 deep of its own accord. You may plow it down 
 8 or 10 inches, and next season when you again 
 plow, you will turn these roots up, apparently 
 alive and healthy, provided you have raised small 
 grain on that field; but if you have raised a culti- 
 vated crop and done the cultivating in a thorough 
 manner, you will find that the roots which you 
 
46 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 plowed under to the depth of 8 or 10 inches, 
 have all decayed. Allow me to refer you to 
 your own corn field. I take it for granted that 
 you had a quack grass corn field or you would not 
 have any use for this book. Where you culti- 
 vated your corn sufficiently to kill the quack 
 between the rows, you will find, on again plow- 
 ing that ground, that the old roots lying between 
 the rows of corn are dead; but those in the hill 
 of corn are very much alive clear down to the bot- 
 tom of the furrow which was turned oven in pre- 
 paring this ground. 
 
 Now, kind reader, if you killed the quack 
 between the rows of corn, what would prevent 
 killing all of it, if the corn was not there? 
 
 Experience With Different Fields. — As pre- 
 viously stated, my farm when purchased was 
 famous as a quack grass farm; in fact, it was 
 entirely taken with the pest, and as a conse- 
 quence was much depreciated in value. 
 
 In ridding the different fields of the weed I 
 pursued different methods of eradication with in- 
 different success, until finally I arrived at definite 
 methods which I have since followed. This 
 experience has differed somewhat, according to 
 the different fields treated, and I shall herein 
 attempt to summarize this experience. In one 
 
48 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 field which had been abandoned for cultivation 
 for many years, the quack grass roots did not ex- 
 tend down more than two and one-half inches 
 and were very small and slender. I plowed this 
 about 8 inches deep, then used the disk every week 
 for six weeks, and then every other week for the 
 balance of the season, commencing June, 1907. 
 (See Fig. No. 12.) This field was seeded to 
 wheat in 1908 and the growth was so heavy 
 that it all lodged and had to be cut with 
 a mowing machine. Even at that I got 18 
 bushels to the acre. The ground was plowed 
 that fall and the next spring was seeded to 
 speltz. Tliis also lodged and was cut with 
 the mower, raked with the hay rake, and then 
 it yielded 40 bushels per acre. Not a spear of 
 quack can now be found on this field. I shall 
 sow same field to oats next season and shall 
 expect at least 50 bushels to the acre on this 
 ground, and will report the yield. 
 
 On one other field I commenced work May 
 25th, 1908, and on another field on which I cut 
 quack grass hay in July, 1908, I commenced work 
 in August. These two pieces were planted to 
 corn May 14th, 1909. One hundred and six 
 baskets of corn to the acre from these fields, 
 
THE CRANE SYSTEM. 49 
 
 while the year before no man would have given 
 one dollar per acre for the use of this land. 
 
 Another strip along the roadway, cut of which 
 is herewith submitted, was plowed in the spring, 
 same as the balance of the field, for corn, but 
 the sod was so thick that there was no show for 
 the com to grow. In August I went at this with 
 a certain form of cultivation. This season— 
 1909— this strip was planted to corn with the rest 
 of the field, and no sign of any return of the 
 quack grass. (See Fig. 13.) 
 
 On another two-acre piece I had sweet corn in 
 1908, but the quack had the best of it all the way 
 through. Commencing October 10th, I complete- 
 ly eradicated the quack grass from this field. 
 Same was planted to raspberries this spring— 
 1909— and is in perfect condition. This past 
 season of 1909, I commenced on a low piece of 
 ground May 21st. There was a heavy sod of 
 quack all over the field. On one-half of this 
 field the spray was applied and not on the other 
 half — same cultivation continuous over the en- 
 tire field. On September 1st, the portion, on 
 which the spray was applied, the quack was com- 
 pletely killed, while on the balance of the field the 
 green still showed in October. 
 
THE CRANE SYSTEM. 51 
 
 Where eradication without the spray is desired, 
 work of plowing should not be commenced be- 
 fore June 10th; but where the spray is used, work 
 can be commenced as early as May 20th. This 
 work may be commenced as late as November 
 1st and have the quack killed by the 1st of July 
 of the following year, and by being most thorough 
 with the cultivation it can be completed in early 
 June. 
 
 I plowed a heavy sod of quack November, 1908, 
 and June, 1909, it was completely eradicated. 
 
 Another field on which cultivation was com- 
 menced June 15, 1909, the last work was done on 
 this field, Aug. 25, and it is now entirely free 
 from quack. No plowing was done in this 
 field. The actual labor applied would not 
 amoimt to the value of five dollars per acre. 
 
 On another field, the plowing was done June 
 20th, 1909. Not a spear of quack has been seen 
 on this field since September 15th. Still another 
 field on which clover and quack grass was cut 
 for hay July, 1909, was plowed in September, 
 the second crop being turned under. This field 
 will be planted to corn in May, 1910, and I will 
 guarantee that it will be entirely free from quack 
 grass, and will produce without a doubt, 60 
 bushels of corn next season. I do not say this 
 
52 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 boastingly, but the conditions warrant it. The 
 cultivation necessary to kill quack grass has pul- 
 verized the soil and made a perfect seed bed. 
 Add to that the decayed quack grass and clover 
 and you will understand why I mention 60 bushels 
 of corn per acre. We must feed Mother Earth 
 if she continues to feed us. I believe that the 
 all- wise Creator sent quack grass to teach us that 
 plant food and intensive cultivation are neces- 
 sary to the production of bountiful crops. When 
 I see the most bountiful crops that these aban- 
 doned, but now reclaimed, quack grass fields 
 produce, I sincerely thank the Lord for this great 
 blessing. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 ERADICATION METHODS. 
 
 The Crane System of Quack Grass Eradica- 
 tion is based on the principle of turning over 
 the quack grass sod, roots and all, to a sufficient 
 depth so that we can cultivate or disk the top 
 soil without disturbing the roots. 
 
 Our chief aim then is to keep this sod where 
 we have placed it until the roots are decayed 
 or absolutely dead. We do not want to plow 
 that land again and turn up those roots until 
 we are sure that the roots are absolutely dead, 
 or else the work may have to be done over again. 
 
 Plowing.— A field thoroughly sodded with 
 quack grass should first be plowed eight or ten 
 inches deep. If the spray system, described 
 elsewhere in this book, is used, the spraying 
 must, of course, be done first. 
 
 Use a breaking plow and lay the sod over 
 flat and smooth. 
 
 A jointer should be used on the plow so as to 
 drop the sod down flat in the furrow, and not 
 lay the end edge up on the top of the other 
 
54 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 slice. When this plowing is properly done 
 it means the saving of much work. 
 
 Effective Plowing. — When it is possible to do 
 so, one should plow around the field, thereby 
 avoiding back furrows. While this may not 
 appeal to some practical farmers as the ideal way 
 to plow, the object in thus plowing is to com- 
 pletely turn the sod under and have three inches 
 of clean dirt on top of the sod after it is turned 
 over. 
 
 Disking. — When the plowing is finished, hitch 
 onto the disk and drive the same way that you 
 plow, and lap the disk half way so that you 
 virtually turn all the groimd twice. 
 
 Disk twice over in this manner. 
 
 Care. — In using the disk one should be very 
 careful not to turn the green sod up again, as 
 we must remember at all times that we are trying 
 to keep it underneath the dirt. In case the disk 
 goes too deep, set it so that it will not turn 
 so much dirt, and in some cases the driver must 
 walk. 
 
 In our treatment remember we are just turn- 
 ing the top dirt, using this dirt as a blanket, 
 so to speak, to starve out and rot those roots 
 imdemeath. 
 
Fig. 14. Plowing. This plow does not turn the sod over 
 flat. A jointer should be used so as to drop the sod 
 right down flat on the bottom of the furrow. 
 
56 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 Interval. — After you have disked sufficiently 
 — in other words when you have formed a fine 
 dust covering or mulch all over the surface on 
 that field — ^you can then let the work rest for 
 a week or ten days, when you chould get out 
 your disk and go over it again. 
 
 Set the disk at as steep an angle as you pos- 
 sibly can — be sure of this — and lap the disk half 
 way each time so that there is no open space 
 left where the center of the disking passes over 
 the ground. 
 
 Cross Disk. — During this second disking period, 
 also cross disk and let the work rest for a week 
 or ten days. Then repeat the work. 
 
 Stubborn Patches. — On portions of the field 
 where there are especially stubborn patches of 
 quack grass, see to it that you keep up the disk- 
 ing until you have the soil over these patches 
 thoroughly pulverized. 
 
 The ends of the field, where you have turned 
 around and packed the ground when you were 
 plowing, should also receive special attention, 
 for it will take extra work there to do a thorough 
 job of pulverizing. I always finish up by going 
 back and forth across the ends several times. 
 I always notice that where I have put on extra 
 work, the result is very evident. 
 
ERADICATION METHODS. 57 
 
 Cultivator. — After you have given the field 
 the fourth disking, as above described, work 
 the field the fifth time with a sulky corn cultiva- 
 tor. The cultivator which I have been using 
 is especially adapted for this work, the points 
 of the shovel being reinforced and the blades 
 made extra heavy for this work in quack grass. 
 The shovel should be of such a shape that the 
 roots do not hang over the points, thereby pre- 
 venting the doing of good work. The lags 
 should be placed so close together that you do not 
 miss any of the quack grass roots. Cultivate 
 this ground three inches deep on the fifth week. 
 Cultivate crosswise also and go four inches deep. 
 
 The Driver. — Allow me to say a word to the 
 driver of the cultivator. If you have turned 
 over a thick quack grass sod you must remem- 
 ber there are quack grass roots in every inch of this 
 ground, consequently, you must cultivate every 
 inch of the ground, and cultivate at an even 
 depth. Drive the team straight. Do not jerk 
 them first to one side and then to the other, but 
 keep a line on them all the time and see that 
 the tracks from your cultivator are straight. 
 
 It is much easier for a team to step straightfor- 
 ward every step than to be turned first to the right 
 and then by a hard jerk on the Hne back against 
 
Fig-. 15. The above cvit shows quack grass roots. They are cut in 
 joints to illustrate that any one of these joints, if left in the 
 ground undisturbed will at once commence to grow. 
 
ERADICATION METHODS. 59 
 
 the whiffletree, and then, by another jerk 
 of the line, swung to the left. The man who 
 expects to kill quack grass successfully must 
 see to it that the" cultivating is properly done. 
 In order to be sure of the work every inch of the 
 ground must be disturbed thoroughly every time 
 you go over it, and in order to do this you must 
 drive in a straight line across the field and not 
 leave any ground that is not thoroughly disturbed 
 with the cultivator. Quack grass roots two 
 inches long if left in the ground undisturbed will 
 at once begin to grow. If you realize this fact, 
 you can readily understand why it is absolutely 
 necessary that the cultivation be done in a 
 thorough and workmanlike manner. This not 
 only applies to the work with the cultivator, 
 but in all work in eradicating quack grass. 
 
 The Harrow. — After you have cultivated this 
 field thoroughly both ways during the fifth week 
 after the plowing was done, the field can again 
 rest for one week, at the expiration of which 
 time you should use the harrow, going over the 
 field both ways until you have shaken the pieces 
 of sod all apart so there are no chimks of sod or 
 clusters of roots hanging together solid enough to 
 hold the moisture. After this harrowing has been 
 done in a proper manner, the disking will finish 
 
60 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 the quack. Follow disking as above described 
 every week or ten days. In case you are pre- 
 vented from doing this work at regular intervals, 
 do not forego it entirely but give a double dose 
 so as to make up for lost time. The result should 
 be nearly the same. 
 
 BY ALL MEANS DO NOT RESORT TO PLOW- 
 ING THE FIELD A SECOND TIME. 
 
 Remember, that we must keep those quack 
 grass roots underneath until they are thoroughly 
 rotted. 
 
 Wet Fields. — Do not be afraid of wet fields, but 
 follow the above treatment as described. At 
 first I was a little skeptical when plowing knd 
 that was water-soaked, but found some of the 
 best work of eradicating was done on these very 
 fields. Never turn around because of low or 
 wet ground; go right through it. 
 
 Remember the three methods of cultivation: 
 first, the disk to pulverize the surface; then the 
 cultivator at a depth of three or four inches; 
 then the harrow to shake it to pieces, and finally 
 the disk. This will absolutely insure complete 
 eradication. 
 
 Time. — Plowing can be done at any time 
 between May 20th and Nov. 1st. I would not 
 
62 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 plow in the spring, however, until the quack grass 
 had gotten a good start — say after June 10th. 
 I would prefer to plow at the time when I 
 find the plant the weakest; in other words, just 
 before it has matured a crop of seed. The quack 
 grass can then be cut for hay* and the sod 
 turned over when the roots are the weakest. This 
 means that there will be cultivating to do to kill 
 these roots. If we plow before this time we have 
 all the strength of the roots to fight. Plow- 
 ing can be done, however, any time after the 
 first of June and about the same results obtained. 
 Eradication Without Plowing. — There are some 
 quack grass infested fields where it is not neces- 
 sary to plow in order to kill out the quack grass. 
 For instance, fields that have been in corn, pota- 
 toes or other cultivated crops the previous year. 
 In such cases take the disk and go over the ground 
 several times, or until you have cut the surface 
 all to pieces. Then take the cultivator and cul- 
 tivate three inches deep. Be very certain that 
 the teeth are sharp, then keep them sharp at 
 all times so they will cut the roots off smooth and 
 clean. After cultivating three inches deep, cross 
 cultivate and go four inches deep. Be sure 
 and cut all the ground and do not leave any 
 strips unturned. Be very thorough with this 
 
 * NOTE. Be sure to cut hay crop before seed has ripened. 
 
ERADICATION METHODS. 63 
 
 work of cultivating, and make certain that there 
 is not one root left undisturbed. Complete 
 eradication is what we want and what we can 
 have if we are thorough with this work of culti- 
 vating. You will be well repaid for extra culti- 
 vation, for the reason that you put that ground 
 into the best possible condition for a crop next 
 year — not only in the best mechanical condi- 
 tion, but you will also have made available 
 great quantities of plant food, and your crop the 
 following year should more than repay you for 
 all the work you have put into quack grass 
 eradication. 
 
 In case the sod is solid in places you will find 
 it rather hard work the first time over with the 
 cultivator, but stay by it. In my experience, 
 the sod and grass many times have rolled up in 
 front of the shovel until I would have to raise them 
 to clean them out, but I always made it a point 
 to go over such places time and again until I 
 had the sod completely turned up. This method 
 of cultivation is the quickest way to eradicate 
 quack grass, and any field that the disk and culti- 
 vator will dig up should be treated in this manner, 
 thus avoiding plowing. 
 
 After the surface has been treated as above 
 described, then use the cultivator every two weeks. 
 
64 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 and you will soon discover that there is no quack 
 grass growing in that field. 
 
 During the next spring, when you prepare for 
 the seeding of any crop that you wish to plant, 
 use the disk in preparing the soil. 
 
 Do not plow; this would only turn up a fresh 
 patch of weed seeds and roots which you would 
 have to fight. 
 
 Do not be misled by a spell of dry weather 
 for the drier the weather, the more necessary is 
 cultivation. Quack grass roots will lie dormant 
 in the sod through any period of dry weather, and 
 this might lead you to believe that the roots 
 were dead. However, they are only play- 
 ing ''possum," and when moisture comes they 
 will begin to grow. Therefore, I repeat the ad- 
 vice, cultivate more frequently during dry weather 
 than when it is wet. 
 
 Moisture is necessary to cause decay of the 
 roots. When there is sufficient moisture in the 
 ground, you can keep it there by your blanket 
 mulch, caused by cultivation. 
 
 Cultivation prevents the growth of the stalk 
 and leaves, which is the stomach of the roots, 
 and also retains the moisture, consequently decay 
 must take place. 
 
ERADICATION METHODS. 65 
 
 Cultivation should be deep and thorough. 
 
 Wherever I have treated a field by surface culti- 
 vation alone — ^no plowing whatever — I have al- 
 ways accomplished complete eradication with 
 much less labor, and in a shorter space of time, 
 than on fields that had to be plowed. Surface 
 cultivation gets at the roots directly, and with 
 the proper kind of a cultivator you can go deep 
 enough to get under the roots and cut off or draw 
 them to the surface. 
 
 Roots that are cut oflf and remain below will 
 be smothered by the dust covering which the 
 cultivator will produce, and the roots that are 
 exposed to the air and the warm rays of the sun 
 will soon wither and die. If all of these roots 
 could be brought to the surface by one cultiva- 
 tion it would be an easy matter to eradicate 
 quack grass, but this is impossible. You will 
 notice that all roots on the ground are soon 
 dead. Another cultivation of this field brings 
 another supply of live roots to the surface, and 
 soon you will find that they are all dead, pro- 
 vided you have cultivated in the manner described. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ERADICATION WITH SPRAY AND CULTI- 
 VATION. 
 
 Using the Spray System. — My first success in 
 
 killing quack grass was by means of a spray, 
 combined with a system of cultivation. 
 
 In experimenting with different kinds of 
 chemicals, I found one or two formulae that would 
 absolutely kill quack grass, but most of them 
 would also ruin the soil for future crops for a 
 year or two. Salt, for instance, will kill quack 
 grass, but will poison the soil temporarily imtil the 
 alkaline matter is washed out. One formula, 
 however, I found especially valuable for use in 
 spraying quack grass fields. It is harmless to 
 the soil when applied as directed. 
 
 The formula for this spray is as follows : 
 
 Take 40 gallons of water and dissolve 8 lbs. 
 of sulphate of iron and 2 lbs. of salt. To this 
 add 2 gallons of sulphuric acid. Stir until the 
 sulphate of iron and the salt are thoroughly dis- 
 solved, and the solution is then ready for use. 
 
 Quantity. — ^The above amoimt of spray is 
 sufficient for one acre of quack grass, and should 
 
68 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 be applied in a thorough manner, taking care that 
 every portion of the field is touched with the 
 spray. 
 
 Apply the spray twenty-four hours before you 
 begin to plow, and plowing should be finished 
 within four days after spraying. This means 
 spraying only an amount of land that you can 
 plow in four days. 
 
 The spray should not be applied while the 
 grass is wet, nor before a rain storm. 
 
 We should have two hours of sunshine after 
 spraying, before dew or rain falls upon it. 
 
 My idea in spraying is merely to coat the en- 
 tire quack grass plant with a thin film of the spray 
 mixture. In my experience in spraying, I have 
 used the power sprayer as shown in figure 17. 
 
 This is, of course, the most effective way of 
 using the spray, as the mixture comes out in a 
 thin cloud of spray that covers all the grass in 
 the path of the sprayer. Before I purchased my 
 power sprayer, however, I used a small hand 
 sprayer and got about the same results. 
 
 Time to Spray. — In spraying quack grass, I 
 have usually used the spray on land where I 
 have previously cut the quack grass for hay. 
 After cutting this hay I have allowed the quack 
 
SPRAY AND CULTIVATION. 69 
 
 grass to spring up again until it is four to eight 
 inches high and has quite a foHage. I then spray it 
 in just as effective a manner as possible, and com- 
 mence plowing it the next day following the day 
 on which I have sprayed. 
 
 Heavy Sod. — Heavy sod of quack should be 
 plowed with a breaking plow, and turned over 
 just as smooth as possible, and should be seven 
 to nine inches deep. This will give you sufficient 
 loose dirt on top with which to form a mulch of 
 dust covering which will prevent the evaporation 
 of the spray, and will also hold the moisture in 
 the ground, which will cause the roots to decay. 
 
 Follow the plowing immediately with the disk, 
 and do not ride the disk the first time over the 
 field, as that would cause it to cut too deep, 
 and thereby turn up more or less sod; this must 
 be avoided, as we want the main sod underneath 
 where it will decay. Have the disk follow the 
 same way of the plow, and lap the disk half way 
 every time. Disk until you have pulverized the 
 surface of the field completely. When tliis work 
 is completed, your field can rest for two weeks. 
 Then take the disk and go after it again, and lap 
 half way every time. Disk until you have 
 thoroughly pulverized the surface of the field, 
 and where there is a patch more stubborn than 
 
70 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 the rest, turn around and go over it imtil your 
 own good judgment tells you that you have con- 
 quered it. Ride the disk always after the first 
 time over the field, and at all times have the disk 
 set at as steep an angle as you possibly can. This 
 turns the ground over and cuts off the roots, and 
 at the same time loosens them from the soil. 
 
 Be thorough with this work. Disk it imtil 
 you have completely killed all the new growth of 
 quack, and have pulverized the sods so that the 
 surface of the field has a perfect dust covering 
 all over it. Then let it rest for another two weeks. 
 
 At the expiration of two weeks you will see 
 green blades of quack growing all over the surface 
 of the field, which may seem very discouraging to 
 you. This is not at all discouraging for two 
 reasons: first, because the green blades that ap- 
 pear on the surface are very valuable as a fertilizer, 
 and the disking will destroy their growth and 
 cause them to decay, and the more decayed vege- 
 tation that you can get in your ground, the more 
 fertile it becomes; second, the cultivation neces- 
 sary to kill this growth will pulverize the ground 
 and at the same time draw the moisture and re- 
 tain it so that the main sod, which is imderneath, 
 must decay. Take your disk and go at it for the 
 third time, lapping the disk half way every 
 
SPRAY AND CULTIVATION. 71 
 
 time, and always set at the steepest angle possi- 
 ble. The team should walk at a good fair gait 
 — ^not snail along. The object is to move the 
 ground, therefore, do it. 
 
 Cultivator. — After two weeks' rest, take the 
 sulky com cultivator and go over this field in a 
 thorough manner, cultivating three inches deep. 
 Then cross cultivate and go four inches deep. 
 Be sure and stir every inch of the ground. Let 
 rest for one week and then harrow in a most 
 thorough manner. Frequent disking thereafter 
 Vv^ill complete the job. 
 
 Do not plow this ground for the next crop. 
 Double disking and harrowing will prepare it in 
 excellent shape for the seed. 
 
 Stubble Ground. — Where a crop has been 
 raised and harvested, the spray can be applied 
 to the stubble and the plow set at work, plowing 
 six inches deep. Follow this with the disk 
 always set at steep angle. The driver can ride 
 this all the time. Lap half way and go over the 
 field several times, then rest one week and repeat 
 the work. Every time you go over this you will see 
 the improvement in the condition of the groimd. 
 The time is short in which to prepare this for the 
 crop next season, therefore it stands you in hand 
 to repeat this work just as often as you can dur- 
 
72 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 ing the fall. The fourth cultivation should be with 
 the corn cultivator, going three inches deep the 
 first time over, then cross cultivate and go about 
 as deep as you plowed. Then harrow most 
 thoroughly and the remainder of the work should 
 be with the disk. 
 
 In preparing this field for the spring crop, 
 use the disk and harrow only. 
 
 Spray and Cultivation Without the Plow. — 
 Where the condition of the ground is such 
 that the disk and corn cultvator will cut up the 
 surface, the plow is not used. Spray the grass 
 and then use the disk with the heaviest driver 
 possible. Disk thoroughly and use the corn 
 cultivator until you have a perfect mulching 
 four inches deep all over the field. Then use the 
 cultivator every two weeks with an occasional 
 harrowing, and soon the quack will not be seen. 
 
 This is decidedly the easiest way to kill quack 
 grass. Take a field that was into corn the pre- 
 vious year, the disk and cultivator will do the 
 work if applied as above stated. Where the sod 
 is firm, then the plow must be used. Where 
 the plow is not to be used, the work can be com- 
 menced in early April and the field seeded July 
 1st. Where the plow is used, the work should not 
 be commenced imtil Jime. The work may be 
 
SPRAY AND CULTIVATION. 73 
 
 commenced as late as November 1st, and the 
 cultivation continued during the early spring. 
 Bear in mind that it takes twelve week's time to 
 make sure that Quack is dead. 
 
 Do not plow a piece in April or early May. 
 The grass is too vigorous at this date to even 
 think of giving up its growth for the production 
 of seed, but when it has spent this special energy, 
 it is then using its strength and vitality in the 
 growth of roots, consequently is the more easily 
 combated. 
 
 The soil breathes the air just as naturally 
 as a person does, only the respiration is not as 
 frequent. In the fall of the year the soil becomes 
 light and airy, inhaling the air, preparing for 
 the production of another crop the next season. 
 In the spring of the year it closes down and forces 
 the air out and is ready for the seed. In fact, 
 the groimd is the storage battery containing the 
 necessary ingredients for the production of vege- 
 tation; and before man began to till this land it 
 was rich and fertile. 
 
 Nature's Restorative. — If we would continue 
 to let Nature have its way, the soil would grow 
 more fertile year by year. But the farmer gave 
 no thought or care to the future, consequently 
 gave nothing back to Mother Earth. This is 
 
74 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 contrary to Nature's laws. Nature provides that 
 vegetation shall grow and decay upon the ground. 
 This decayed matter brings all the other proper- 
 ties into perfect condition, and heavy growth 
 can be had every year. Man, in his shortsighted- 
 ness, will not even give back the straw that grew 
 on the field, when this is all that is needed, 
 together with thorough tillage, to continue the 
 growth of bountiful crops year after year. This 
 is why quack grass was sent us. The roots con- 
 tinue to grow. The plowing and cultivating 
 kills a portion of them, and they decay and fer- 
 tilize the ground, and in due course of time will 
 bring that groimd back to its original fertility. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS SUGGESTIONS. 
 
 September Work. — Any field that has raised a 
 crop of small grain can be plowed just as soon as 
 the crop is gathered, and the quack can be killed 
 in time for the seeding in the spring. Plow six 
 inches deep, or a trifle more, being careful to turn 
 the sod completely over. I^ap the disk half way over 
 every time so that the open space left in the center 
 of the disk will be avoided. Be very careful to 
 do this. Once over the field in this manner is 
 called double disking. This double disking should 
 be done just as soon after plowing as possible. 
 Then turn and cross disk the field in the same 
 manner. Double disk this field every ten days 
 or two weeks, and weight the disk so that it will 
 cut as deep as the land was plowed. In the 
 spring, give this land two more double diskings 
 and it is ready for the seed. Have your disk 
 sharp so that it will cut right through the sod. 
 Working with a dull disk is merely wasting time. 
 Set it at as steep an angle as possible. Be very 
 careful on these points : namely, covering the entire 
 field; having the disk sharp, and having the disk 
 set at a steep angle all the time. 
 
76 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 October Work. — Work of eradication can be 
 commenced at any time, even as late as October, 
 and even into November, but the cultivation 
 should be continued during April and May of 
 the next season, and even to July 1st, in some cases ; 
 then put in a late crop, such as millet, buckwheat, 
 flax or fodder corn. Do not seed to any crop 
 until quack is dead. The above crops are merely 
 suggested for the reason that they will usually 
 mature when planted late in the season. 
 
 Whenever the field is in such condition that 
 the disk or cultivatior will tear up the sod, do not 
 plow. Use the disk to cut up the surface, and 
 then the cultivator with sharp shovels, going 
 three inches deep. Cross cultivate and go four 
 inches deep. Repeating this cultivc^.tion every 
 two weeks is the surest method of killing quack 
 grass. This method means complete eradica- 
 tion by surface cultivation alone and without 
 plowing. Your field will be ready for the seed 
 in the spring by just double disking once. 
 
 Abandoned Fields. — Fields that have been 
 abandoned from cultivation, and are firmly 
 sodded with quack, may be handled at any time 
 after June 10th. The method followed should 
 be as described in the chapter headed "Eradica- 
 tion Methods. ' ' It takes from ten to twelve 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 77 
 
 weeks to complete the job where the plow is 
 used. Thus you will understand that a field 
 where work is commenced in November will 
 require all the time until July in which to com- 
 plete the work. Never plow the ground the 
 second time. Those roots that are so deep that 
 the disk or cultivator does not reach them, will 
 die and decay provided you have kept the green 
 blades from conveying the breath of life to them. 
 Do not feel that the killing of quack grass is the 
 only good that will come from this work, for the 
 improved condition of the soil, together with the 
 decayed quack grass roots, will give you an in- 
 crease in yield that will amply repay you for this 
 extra work. 
 
 Value of Cultivation. — It is an admitted fact 
 that a good crop of small grain can be grown on 
 a field that has been in com the year before, even 
 though no fertilizer was used in preparing the 
 field for corn. Corn of itself has not enriched the 
 land, but the cultivation necessary to produce 
 this good corn has fertilized the soil so it is mel- 
 low and fine, and is in perfect condition for a crop 
 of grain once the seed bed has been prepared. 
 The man who has not learned the great value of 
 proper cultivation, cannot get from liis soil the 
 yields which it is capable of producing. We 
 
78 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 can take old fields and by plowing them immediate- 
 ly after harvesting, and disking them several 
 times during the fall, then double disk them once 
 in the spring before using the drill, and we will 
 thereby improve the yield of grainfrom 20 to 30 per 
 cent the first season, and another 15 per cent can be 
 added to this by giving this field a top dressing 
 with your manure spreader after the seed has 
 been sown, or even after it is up. My manure 
 spreader has a six inch tire and I can go over the 
 field without injuring the growing crop. By 
 systematic cultivation, and a reasonable supply 
 of fertilizer, we can soon bring our fields back 
 to their native fertiUty. Get after your grain 
 fields immediately after the grain is gathered. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 OTHER METHODS OF ERADICATION. 
 
 The Tar Paper Method. — On some farms where 
 quack grass has just gotten a start, and where the 
 only visible signs of the pest are a few scattered 
 patches — possibly one or two — the farmer may 
 consider it impractical to take up the extensive 
 system of eradication recommended in other 
 parts of this book, which treatment is largely 
 intended for farms where quack grass has either 
 formed a perfect sod over large fields, or where 
 the patches are so numerous that in time it will 
 do this. The tar paper method of treatment is 
 therefore recommended for these small patches. 
 In using the tar paper method, we work on the 
 same principle as by the cultivation treatment 
 recommended elsewhere, in other words, we keep 
 down all above ground growth over an entire 
 season, thus shutting off the stomach of the plant 
 and starving the roots to death. 
 
 In using the tar paper method, merely secure 
 the ordinary tar paper on the market, and cut it 
 in strips sufficiently long to go clear across the 
 patch and extend four or five feet beyond the edge 
 
Fig, 17. "Roots" of quack grass buried under tar paper 
 from July 17 to October 7, 1907; "roots" dead in April, 
 1908. (Bulletin No. 105, Experiment Station, Ames, 
 Iowa.) 
 
OTHER METHODS. 81 
 
 of the patch. Be sure to have it extend over 
 the edge, as the roots of quack grass extend out 
 further than the green patches show. If you 
 merely cover the patch, you still leave this circle 
 of roots outside. By running the tar paper over 
 the entire distance, you catch the whole thing. 
 In laying the strips of tar paper, see that they over- 
 lap about four inches, then weight down these 
 overlappings with dirt so that no light can get to 
 the patch. 
 
 The tar paper method can be used early in the 
 spring, or after the grass has been cut for hay. 
 After putting on the tar paper, however, leave 
 it on for the rest of the season to make sure that 
 you have done proper work. You will then find 
 that the next season this patch of quack should be 
 entirely gone. To make certain, however, that 
 all the roots are dead, we would spade into these 
 patches first and make an investigation. 
 
 Treatment for Larger Patches. — Sometimes 
 there are patches of quack grass on the farm that 
 are too large to treat by the tar paper method, 
 and yet too small to use more general cultivation 
 methods, such as are recommended for treating 
 fields. Where these patches are thickly sodded, 
 plow them under and plow deep. Then use the 
 disk until you have formed a good dust covering. 
 
82 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 If the patches are so small that you cannot use a 
 double team, then use one horse on your walking 
 cultivator. Put a stone on the cultivator so 
 that it will dig deep. Cultivate both ways and 
 all around the edges. You will quickly observe 
 that the quack grass is being subdued and is less 
 vigorous after each cultivation. Be most 
 thorough with this work, and when it is com- 
 pleted you will find that your ground is in the 
 very best condition for the planting of any crop 
 you may desire. Do not plow when you are ready 
 to put in a crop, but merely disk the groimd and 
 it is ready for the seed. The spading harrow is 
 recommended by some experimentors for 
 treating small patches. 
 
 Subduing With Smother Crops. — The use of 
 various kinds of smother crops, such as buck- 
 wheat, millet, sorghum, and even clover, has been 
 advised by many agricultural experts. We have 
 never seen it demonstrated, however, that smother 
 crops would actually kill quack grass, nor do we 
 beHeve that it will. It is true, however, that 
 when a smother crop is properly used it will keep 
 quack grass down to a few frail plants the year 
 the smother crop is grown. Unless the most 
 careful work is done the following year, however, 
 and the ground persistently cultivated, the quack 
 
OTHER METHODS. 83 
 
 grass roots will be found to have been merely 
 lying dormant the year before and getting ready 
 for an extra good crop the following year. 
 
 In low lying or wet land, smother crops are 
 practically of no benefit, since in such localities 
 quack grass will make a far more vigorous growth 
 than any smother crop you can grow on that kind 
 of ground, as the result, the quack grass smothers 
 out the smother crop. The use of smother crops 
 in fighting quack grass is based along exactly the 
 same lines as various kinds of cultivation we 
 have mentioned, namely; the starving of the roots 
 by keeping down all above groimd growth. 
 The smother crop by shading the land fully oc- 
 cupied, prevents effectual growth of quack grass 
 that season, and where the soil has been properly 
 prepared and the smother crop put in in good 
 shape, there will be very few sickly quack grass 
 plants that make headway that season. How- 
 ever, these few plants are sufficient to keep quack 
 grass roots alive and they will lie dormant that 
 year, and if given opportunity the next season, 
 will soon become as vigorous as ever. 
 
 As above mentioned, we do not know of any 
 one who has completely killed quack grass by the 
 use of smother crops. We have heard some 
 farmers claim that they have done so, but in- 
 
84 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 vestigation has shown that in most of these cases 
 the results have only been partially successful; 
 that is to say, enough quack grass was killed so 
 that the farmer was enabled to grow good crops, 
 but complete eradication as is given by the Crane 
 system, has not been shown. 
 
 Of the various crops used in smothering 
 quack grass, buckwheat is, in nearly all cases, 
 considered the best, for the reason that buck- 
 wheat can be planted later in the spring than most 
 any of the other smother crops; it grows quite 
 a dense foliage, and brings fair returns. An 
 Iowa farmer, Mr. B. B. Strayer, of Fayette County, 
 Iowa, reports, in an Iowa bulletin, the following 
 method of fighting quack grass with buckwheat. 
 Mr. Strayer says : 
 
 ''Plow the ground very shallow early in the 
 spring, then harrow until perfectly level, let it 
 lie until about the 25th of June, when the quack 
 grass and other weeds will have reached a large 
 growth. Take three good horses and a sixteen- 
 inch walking plow, and turn the ground over, 
 plowing as deep as possible, using a heavy log 
 chain attached to plow and whiffletree to pull the 
 growth of vegetation into the furrow, so that it will 
 be completely covered. Sow with buckwheat, 
 and harrow lightly with slanting-tooth drag; 
 harrow around the field, in the same direction 
 
OTHER METHODS. 85 
 
 in which it was plowed, so as not to uncover any 
 of the vegetation that has been turned under, 
 or bring any of the quack grass roots to the sur- 
 face. If the above treatment of ground that is 
 infested with quack grass is carried out, little, 
 if any of the weed will be left, and the crop of 
 buckwheat will more than pay for the trouble." 
 
 The Farmer Farm of Dakota county, Minne- 
 sota, reports the following experience in using 
 various smother crops and systems of cultivation 
 in fighting quack grass. In summarizing their 
 experience in fighting quack grass during two or 
 three years, the following suggestions are made by 
 the management of The Farmer Farm: 
 
 "The method adopted at the Farmer Farm 
 was to first get the seed bed in perfect condition 
 by disking and dragging. Disking on hot days 
 was found to work great damage to quack grass. 
 After the com was planted we endeavored to 
 avoid the usual danger of scattering the weed 
 caused by the use of the ordinary shovel and 
 hence adopted surface cultivation. The Tower 
 surface cultivator used cuts off the weeds just be- 
 low the surface and lets them lie instead of car- 
 rying them over the field. This method of culti- 
 vation proved very successful and practically no 
 quack grass remains at this time except dead 
 
88 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 roots and we have a good crop of corn. We 
 do not mean to say that the quack grass is all 
 killed off, but it goes to show that quack grass 
 can be very much subdued and a good crop of 
 corn raised at the same time by using this method 
 of cultivation, wliich is accomplishing a great 
 deal more than is usually accomplished where 
 quack grass is firmly established. 
 
 '*We also experimented with other crops on 
 quack grass land. In one field where the quack 
 grass was particularly well sodded, the ground 
 was plowed in late May after the quack grass 
 was nearly waist high, and the whole sod turned 
 under as deeply as possible. The ground was 
 then put in condition and millet planted. The 
 millet has come out very well indeed and given a 
 good crop of hay, except in the low places, where 
 the quack grass has killed it. On the liigh 
 groimd there is practically no quack grass mixed 
 with the millet, but now that the millet has been 
 removed it is sending up a few sickly plants. 
 If allowed to have its own way it would doubtless 
 be as firmly established as ever next year. On 
 the millet ground we will put in com next year 
 and adopt the same method of cultivation used 
 this season. The com ground will probably 
 be seeded to barley and clover sowed with it. 
 
90 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 ' ' We also plowed some of the quack grass sod 
 in June and put in sorghum. The results were 
 practically as with the millet. A good crop was 
 raised and the quack is now sending up spindly 
 shoots. The quack grass has been hurt and kept 
 in check, but not killed. 
 
 ''On another farm we have observed what 
 clover will do on quack grass sod, and we find that 
 a good crop of clover has in some cases been 
 raised even where the quack was very abundant; 
 in fact we have seen one field partially infested 
 with quack grass where the clover is higher on 
 the quack sod than on any other part of the 
 field. This leads us to believe that quack 
 grass will do less damage in the meadow than on 
 any crop on the farm. This is the best place to 
 keep it until more active measures of cultivation 
 are taken up. 
 
 ''Quack grass land should not be cultivated 
 at all unless it is cultivated thoroughly and not 
 allowed the slightest advantage until a crop is 
 well established. 
 
 ' ' Quack grass will do the least damage in the 
 meadow. The hay should be cut before the quack 
 grass seeds are ripe. The plant will spread some- 
 what from the root, but not nearly so much as in a 
 cultivated field. 
 
OTHER METHODS. 91 
 
 ' ' In order to kill quack grass it must be smoth- 
 ered, that is, its roots must be starved to death 
 by keeping down all growth above ground. 
 This starving of the roots may be accomplished 
 by surface cultivation or by the growing of some 
 crop which will prevent its making any above 
 ground growth. Unless great care is used, the 
 ordinary shovel plow in a wet season will do 
 much to spread the growth of quack grass in 
 other parts of the field. Smother crops, such as 
 millet, sorghum, clover and buckwheat cannot be 
 absolutely depended upon to kill quack grass, but 
 if given sufficient headway in starting growth 
 they will greatly damage the vitality of the 
 plant, and other methods of eradication can then 
 be taken up. 
 
 ''Fall plowing or disking just before freezing 
 weather, will kill a large proportion of quack 
 grass roots. Disking in hot weather will have 
 the same effect. Surface cultivation has proven 
 eminently satisfactory at the Farmer Farm in 
 growing a first-class field of com on quack grass 
 sod." 
 
 ! Mr. Thomas Harbom, late manager of James 
 J. Hill's farm, gives the following experiences in 
 
92 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 fighting quack grass in Steams county, Min- 
 nesota : 
 
 ' ' Don't plow your land or touch it in any way 
 until about the 25th of May, so as to give the 
 quack grass a good chance to get started. Then 
 take a plow and put on a jointer instead of a 
 rolling coulter. Then be careful in setting out 
 your ridge to see that everything is thoroughly 
 covered and plow as deep as possible. Then as 
 soon as possible after it is plowed harrow thor- 
 oughly and make as good a seed bed as possible. 
 Next take your corn planter and plant Triumph 
 or any kind of corn that will grow a medium sized 
 stalk and a good, heavy leaf. See that the com 
 cultivator teeth are thoroughly sharp and culti- 
 vate as often as possible. Then cut your corn 
 and before it freezes up take a potato digger 
 and run that on each row which will shake the 
 soil from the roots and leave them on top of the 
 ground and the frost of the winter will kill it, 
 but if you think the roots are not dead take your 
 rake and rake them out and burn them. Then 
 plow and seed to small grain of any kind and with a 
 seeding of clover you have got your land clean. 
 If tliis does not clean it, repeat the former part 
 of the program. ' ' 
 
 Mr. A. W. Trow, the well known agricultural 
 
OTHER METHODS. 93 
 
 writer, gives the following suggestions in fighting 
 quack grass : 
 
 ' ' We have known of several first-class farmers 
 in Olmstead county who start in to eradicate 
 quack grass by first giving it close pasturing with 
 horses or sheep. The longer and closer quack 
 grass is pastured the nearer its roots come to the 
 surface. After it has been pastured imtil the 
 roots have come close to the surface, the ground is 
 plowed very late in the fall, and it should be plow- 
 ed extremely deep. If possible turn this furrow 
 at least ten inches deep, and bear in mind that 
 this plowing is of no account unless a flat furrow 
 is turned; that is, turn the furrow completely 
 upside down. This deep plowing with a flat 
 furrow is to bury the quack grass, and afterward 
 follow with a cultivated crop, but the culti- 
 vation should be shallow to avoid tearing up the 
 sod and bringing the roots to the surface. We 
 recently met an expert farmer from one of the 
 large estates in Sweden, who informed us that 
 deep plowing after close pasturing was a system 
 of keeping back quack grass that is being quite 
 generally followed in his coimtry. He used the 
 term * keeping back, ' as he claims it to be almost 
 impossible to entirely eradicate it in their country 
 where the precipitation is so heavy. 
 
OTHER METHODS. 95 
 
 • 
 
 ''When ground infested with quack grass is 
 plowed before a sod is formed, or if the sod is of 
 s uc h a character that a flat furrow can not be turne d , 
 it is better to plow very late in the fall and leave 
 the furrow standing on edge as much as possible, 
 as there is nothing that will reduce the vitality of 
 quack grass roots more than dry freezing, hence 
 as above stated, there are two distinct methods 
 for plowing quack grass — either bury it complete- 
 ly or turn the furrow on edge to be exposed to the 
 frost, and the condition of the ground and the 
 depth of the roots must determine which is the 
 best plan to follow. 
 
 ' ' In fighting quack grass it is well to remember 
 that it has a few vulnerable points, that its roots, 
 more than most other plants, are weakened by 
 freezing, and especially when they are exposed 
 in loose dirt. We do not mean by this that 
 late fall rough plowing will destroy quack grass, 
 but it is only a means of keeping it in subjection, 
 and reducing its vitality as a preliminary to its 
 ultimate eradication, by intensive cultivation or 
 by the use of smother crops, such as millet, buck- 
 wheat or hemp. Quack grass roots do not thrive 
 as well in loose dirt as in a compact soil. This 
 being the case some of our farmers begin early 
 in the spring stirring the groimd with a four shovel 
 
96 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 com cultivator, and continue to go over the 
 ground about once a week until the last of June or 
 first of July, then sow to millet or buckwheat. 
 This system in conjunction with the late fall 
 rough plowing is a plan quite generally followed 
 by our best Canadian farmers, but please bear 
 in mind that this deep cultivation would not be 
 advisable where an attempt was being made to 
 smother the quack grass roots by extremely 
 deep plowing." 
 
 The Iowa, North Dakota and Minnesota 
 Experiment Stations have issued bulletins on 
 the subject of weed eradication which are of 
 service to farmers in studying the eradication 
 of quack grass and other weeds. A few 
 government bulletins may also be obtained 
 for the asking. 
 
A FEW STATEMENTS CONCERNING THE 
 
 EFFICIENCY OF 
 
 MR. CRANE^S METHOD. 
 
98 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 STATE OF MINNESOTA 
 
 FARMERS' INSTITUTE 
 
 St. Paui., Minn., May 25, 1909. 
 
 To Whom it May Concern: 
 
 On Nov. 3, 1908, I visited the farm of Mr. 
 P. B. Crane, at Long Lake, Minn., and went care- 
 fully over all his fields. I again visited his farm 
 on May 21, 1909, and went carefully over the same 
 fields. One field that grew wheat in 1908, and 
 is now seeded to speltz, shows absolutely no 
 signs of any queck grass. This field is said to 
 have been badly infested with quack grass and 
 was treated in 1907. A field from which a crop 
 of quack grass hay was cut in 1908, was plowed 
 August 1st and treated the balance of the season, 
 and is now being planted to corn; we were unable 
 to find any hve quack grass in this field. I have 
 no doubt of Mr. Crane's ability to eradicate 
 quack grass. 
 
 A. D. WILSON, 
 
 Superintendent of Minnesota Farmers' In- 
 stitutes. 
 
QUACK GRASS. 99 
 
 TURNHAM & TALBERT 
 
 RAILROAD CONTRACTORS 
 
 Long Lake, Minn., Jan. 27, 1910. 
 To Whom It May Concern : 
 
 Being a neighbor of Mr. Crane's and having 
 some witch grass on my farm, am naturally very 
 much interested in his system of cultivation, as 
 I believe this is one of the hardest problems the 
 farmers of this community have to contend with. 
 
 On examining the soil after witch grass has 
 been killed, I find it to be in as good condition 
 as clover sod that has been broken up, and the 
 corn in his crib this year certainly testifies to the 
 value of the soil. Have just taken a trip through 
 the com belt of Iowa and I saw no com that 
 could compete, in all ways, with the corn Mr. 
 Crane has raised on this same land he has re- 
 deemed from witch grass. 
 
 Others have failed on one or two acres while 
 by his system hundreds of acres can be easily 
 reclaimed and as a means of fertilization his 
 system is unequaled. 
 
 His discovery will be worth many dollars to 
 farmers in our vicinity and is brought within 
 the means of. all. 
 
 Mr. Crane is certainly entitled to great credit 
 and his achievement in this line should be recog- 
 nized by the public. 
 
 GEO. A. TURNHAM, 
 
 Chairman of Supervisors, Township of Orono. 
 
100 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 MINNESOTA EDUCATIONAL ASSOCI- 
 ATION 
 
 J. M. GUISE, Corresponding Secretary 
 
 St. Paui., Minn., May 24, 1909. 
 
 To Those Wishing to Rid Themsei^ves of 
 Quack Grass: 
 
 That Mr. P. B. Crane of Long Lake, Minn., 
 is able to destroy permanently, quack in its worst 
 form, has been demonstrated to my entire satis- 
 faction. Living a neighbor to Mr. Crane, I 
 have watched his work with interest and must 
 confess with some increduHty at first. 
 
 Last summer I examined fields in which he had 
 used his method of cultivation and found them 
 looking like a garden, where formerly they were 
 perfect mats of quack. 
 
 One field which had been treated in the sum- 
 mer of 1907 was seeded to wheat in 1908 and last 
 Fall when I examined this field there was no sign 
 of quack. This spring, just yesterday, when I 
 examined it, I found a good crop of speltz growing 
 on this field and not a single spear of quack has 
 put in an appearance, showing that the ground 
 had been effectively cleaned of the quack. 
 
 Another field from which a crop of quack 
 grass was cut for hay in July of last summer, was 
 treated and when examined last fall was found 
 
QUACK GRASS. 101 
 
 free from any living quack. This spring this 
 field is planted to com and a very careful examina- 
 tion failed to disclose a single spear of living 
 quack. 
 
 If Mr. Crane is able to accomplish such 
 effective results on a farm that was infested as 
 badly as I knew his to be, I see no reason why 
 the same method of treatment should not prove 
 equally effective any place that it is put in 
 operation. 
 
 I believe Mr. Crane's method, which he has 
 worked out after long experimenting, will prove a 
 boon to the many farmers in Minnesota who are 
 fighting against this pest. 
 
 Very respectfully yours, 
 
 JOHN M. GUISE. 
 
102 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 SAMELS BROS. 
 
 MANUFACTURERS OF BUTTER 
 
 MiNNEAPOUS, Minn., Jan. 19, 1910. 
 
 To Whom it May Concern: 
 
 This is to certify that I have personally 
 called on Mr. P. B. Crane, of Long Lake, Minn., 
 in June, and it so happened that he was break- 
 ing a piece of quack grass land the day that I 
 called on him; this gave me a chance to see the 
 grass before it was turned over. I again called 
 on him in September to examine the same 
 field, and found that he had made a complete 
 eradication of the quack grass in this field. I 
 also examined several other pieces of land that 
 he had treated, and was unable to find any quack 
 grass in any field that had been treated, while 
 there was plenty of the quack grass in the ad- 
 joining fields. I am fully convinced that Mr. 
 Crane has the right method and the right prepara- 
 tions, and I bought enough compound for 20 
 acres. I have treated my land and have every 
 reason to believe that the quack grass has been 
 killed. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 W. H. SAMELS. 
 
QUACK GRASS. 103 
 
 THE DAKOTA FARMER 
 
 PROF. THOS. SHAW, Associate Editor 
 
 Aberdeen, S. D., Oct. 5, 1909. 
 To All Whom it May Concern: 
 
 This is to certify that I vivsited the farm of 
 Mr. P. B. Crane near lyong Take, Minn., on Aug. 
 28th, 1909. Mr. Crane showed me ground that 
 was plowed up on May 21st to the depth of 7 
 inches. It had been mowed for quack grass hay 
 for four years previously. It was treated on 
 May 20th with a spray that Mr. Crane has dis- 
 covered and which he uses once on the quack 
 before it is plowed. This ground was subse- 
 quently double disked five times. I could not 
 find a blade of living grass on it, though I searched 
 carefully above and below the surface. The 
 roots were plentifully present below the surface, 
 but they were all dead. I examined other 
 fields that Mr. Crane had treated in previous 
 years, and not a blade of the quack was to be 
 found on them. The method followed by Mr. 
 Crane is certainly effective. I am watching, 
 with interest, his experiments in killing quack 
 at different seasons. He has never failed thus 
 far in destroying every plant in the fields where 
 he has imdertaken the work of eradication. 
 
 THOMAS SHAW. 
 
104 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 W. W. CARR & SONS 
 
 GENERAL MERCHANTS 
 
 Crystal Bay, Minn., Feb. 5, 1910. 
 
 To The Public: 
 
 We are pleased to state that Mr. P. B. Crane 
 has been a neighbor of ours for a number of 
 years, in fact, his farm is just across the county 
 road from ours, so we have had a good opportunity 
 to watch his progress upon his matted quack grass 
 fields since he purchased the property. His 
 progress seemed very slow and almost ineffective 
 for several years, but since 1908 he has had the 
 quack grass correlled, for on his fields that were 
 solid beds of quack grass for the last 30 years and 
 worthless, he is now raising just as fine crops as 
 any one in the state of Minnesota. His eradica- 
 tion of quack grass, under his methods of killing, 
 is wonderful and permanent, and it will bring 
 back into use many of the unclaimed acres of 
 our state. 
 
 Very truly, 
 
 W. W. CARR & SONS. 
 
QUACK GRASS. 105 
 
 THE CITY NATIONAL BANK 
 
 W. J. MOORE, President 
 
 Tipton, Iowa, Aug. 10, 1909. 
 
 To Whom This May Concern: 
 
 This is to certify that I have recently visited 
 the farm of P. D. Crane near Long Lake, Minn., 
 I have examined his fields now under cultivation, 
 and find his method of eradicating quack grass 
 to be all that he claims for it. I believe it to be 
 the only solution known at the present time to 
 thoroughly destroy quack grass effectively. 
 
 Respectfully, 
 
 W. J. MOORE. 
 
 Long Lake, Minn., May 24, 1909. 
 To Whom it May Concern: 
 
 This is to certify that I have this day re-ex- 
 amined the fields on which my friend Peter B. 
 Crane killed quack grass during the summer of 
 1908 and cannot find a spear of this kind of grass 
 and I believe that he has thoroughly eradicated 
 it root and branch. 
 
 I am convinced that his system is a success. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 A. W. PAGE. 
 
106 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 LAW OFFICES OF 
 
 W. L. HURSH 
 
 Minneapolis, Minn., Jan. 19, 1910. 
 
 To Whom it May Concern: 
 
 I reside at Long Lake, Minnesota, about 
 a mile and a half from the forty acre farm of 
 P. B. Crane. I have been familiar with the con- 
 dition of the Crane farm for the last twenty- 
 five years, and during all that time imtil within 
 the last few years, this farm has been thoroughly 
 polluted with Quack Grass, so much so that it 
 was almost impossible to raise a paying crop on 
 any part of it, while parts of it were so matted 
 with the Quack Grass that nothing could be grown. 
 
 I have been watching Mr. Crane's experi- 
 ments for several years past and have been upon 
 the farm at different times to see what progress 
 he was making, as I had some Quack Grass land 
 of my own. 
 
 For a number of years he made very little 
 progress, but during the seasons of 1908 and 1909, 
 he thoroughl}^ cleaned out the several tracts 
 that he worked on. I examined part of his 
 farm in the fall of 1908 and found no Quack 
 Grass in a field where in the spring there had been 
 nothing but Quack Grass. I examined this field 
 
QUACK GRASS. 107 
 
 again in the fall of 1909 and there was no Quack 
 Grass. 
 
 At the same time I examined other fields 
 which in 1908 were full of Quack Grass, and was 
 unable to find any Quack Grass roots. 
 
 Mr. Crane has certainly hit on the right method 
 of eradicating Quack Grass as he has turned the 
 most worthless farm in our neighborhood into one 
 of the best cultivated tracts, free from weeds and 
 Quack Grass, in the country. 
 
 Under his direction and following his sug- 
 gestions I have completely eradicated Quack Grass 
 from two acres of land at my home, which was 
 so taken by Quack Grass that nothmg else would 
 grow on it. Quack Grass can be eradicated with 
 the ordinary farm tools within one season if Mr. 
 Crane's method of procedure is carefuUy fohowed. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 W. L. HURSH. 
 
108 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 C. D. LYDIARD 
 
 Dealer in 
 
 GENERAL MERCHANDISE 
 
 Long Lake, Minn., Nov. 30, 1909. 
 To Whom it May Concern: 
 
 This is to certify that I have been acquainted 
 with Mr. P. B. Crane for a number of years and 
 have known the farm on which he lives for over 
 thirty years, and can truthfully say that when 
 Mr. Crane bought this farm it was the worst bunch 
 of quack grass that I had ever seen. 
 
 Mr. Crane went after this with a determina- 
 tion to kill it out, but, for seven years the quack 
 still had the best of the situation. From that 
 time on it has gradually disappeared, field by 
 field until today he has a reclaimed quack grass 
 farm. 
 
 Cleaner fields or more perfect condition of 
 soil I have never seen in any state, and the crops 
 that this reclaimed quack grass land produces 
 are far superior to that produced by the virgin 
 soil. 
 
 Some of this land has been tilled for over 
 fifty years, and not a particle of fertilizer has ever 
 been applied, and no person would give one dol- 
 lar per acre for the use of it. This season it 
 
QUACK GRASS. 109 
 
 produced one hundred and six baskets of com to 
 the acre on one field and 40 bushels of speltz on 
 another, proving that quack grass is a grand good 
 restorative to the soil. 
 
 Mr. Crane is writing up his system of eradica- 
 tion in book form. Every "quack grass" 
 farmer should get a book and know how to re- 
 claim quack grass lands. 
 
 Very sincerely yours, 
 
 C. D. LYDIARD, P. M. 
 
110 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 STATE BANK OF LONG LAKE 
 
 ROY H. JEWETT, Cashier 
 
 Long Lake, Minn., Nov. 30, 1909. 
 
 To Whom it May Concern: 
 
 This is to certify that I am well acquainted 
 with Mr. P. B. Crane and am very familiar with 
 the condition of his farm on which he has been 
 eradicating quack grass. I can truthfully say 
 that his farm was the worst mat of quack grass 
 that I have ever seen. 
 
 Mr. Crane has thoroughly demonstrated the 
 fact that quack grass can be eradicated. He 
 has done this work himself, and it is just wonder- 
 ful to see the reformation that he has worked on 
 his farm. Where nothing but quack grass grew 
 in 1908 he raised 106 baskets of com to the acre 
 this season, and not a particle of fertilizer was ap- 
 plied to this field. Today, his fields are as clean 
 and free from quack grass as any garden ever was, 
 and the soil is as mellow and rich as any soil could 
 possibly be. Mr, Crane predicts 70 bushels of 
 com to the acre next season and it certainly 
 looks as though he would get it. 
 
 His method of eradicating quack is practical, 
 and any and every farmer can attain same re- 
 sults by applying Crane's system of cultivation 
 
QUACK GRASS. Ill 
 
 which he is now writing and will have in book form 
 so that every tiller of the soil can have one, and 
 with this in his possession can proceed to reclaim 
 his quack grass lands. This means many milHons 
 of dollars to the quack infested districts of the 
 United States. 
 
 Respectfully submitted, 
 
 ROY H. JEWETT, Cashier. 
 
112 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 C. B. HUSCHKE 
 
 MANAGER 
 
 Morgan, Minn., Feb. 2, 1910. 
 
 Mr. p. B. Crane: 
 
 Dear Sir: I just had a letter from Mr. C. O. 
 Gilfillan, telling me that you wished to know what 
 success we had with the Quack Grass last 
 season. I must say we did not give same a fair 
 trial. I could not get the team onto the land 
 because we had to hire a team, but this season we 
 will try and have a team on hand of our own, 
 but this field might be better than we look for 
 when spring opens up ; as yet, can't say. We are 
 going at it in the spring again on another field 
 and try and follow your directions to the letter. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 C. O. GILFILLAN. 
 By C. B. Huschke, Agt. 
 
QUACK GRASS. 113 
 
 IvAKB WiivSON, Minn., Feb. 7, 1910. 
 P. B. Crane, Esq., Long Lake, Minn.: 
 
 Dear Sir: Yours of the 25th to hand and 
 glad to hear from you once more and that you 
 are having such heavy crops on your reclaimed 
 quack land. It seems to me that one of my 
 letters must have miscarried, or been lost in the 
 mails. I continued the cultivation of my patch 
 tmtil the middle of October before I put in the 
 com plow to tear up the sod. I had the most 
 favorable weather in September for my work I 
 had had all the season. After turning up the 
 sods I still foimd a few live roots in three dif- 
 ferent patches; these patches were in the wettest 
 part of the field and did not get as much work 
 as the other part of the field on accoimt of so much 
 rain. I cultivated the whole piece once each 
 way and where the sod was heaviest in the wet 
 places, twice each way, and when I examined the 
 field just before it froze up I still found a few live 
 roots, but I had to himt for them pretty close 
 by taking a piece of the sod in my hand up care- 
 fully to find the small pieces that still had a Ht- 
 tle life left, but am perfectly satisfied. If I 
 had had a favorable season I would have had a 
 clean field. I have fifteen cans of the mixture left 
 yet and will try another piece this spring, so I 
 
114 QUACK GRASS. 
 
 will have to get the sprayer shipped down here 
 again in the spring as I would like to start about 
 the tenth of May or just as soon as corn is planted. 
 In your letter of 25th inst. you said you were 
 getting out some new printed matter, and would 
 like to have me give my experience with your 
 treatment. I have given you a true statement, 
 in the above and don't think it will be any good 
 to be used in your publication. I would also say 
 in regard to your treatment in this neighborhood, 
 the neighbors have not taken any in the same 
 as far as I can see. I never had one visit my 
 field all season; of course, when in town, there 
 were lots of inquiries after Mr. Quack and if he 
 was dead yet, but I never heard one of them 
 say they would try a piece next year, and some of 
 them think that I was an easy mark to be 
 caught in such a scheme. Hoping to hear from 
 you soon and wishing you success in killing Quack, 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 WILLIAM SCOTT. 
 
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AGRICULTURE FOR 
 
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