Poison-ivy can be grubbed out by hand quite readily early in spring and late in fall. When the ground is soft after rains the roots come out in long pieces. Grubbing when the soil is dry and hard is almost futile, since the roots break off in the ground, leaving large pieces that later sprout vigorously. Eradication by grubbing is permanent if well done. Because of his close contact with the plants, the person doing the grubbing should have a high degree of immunity to ivy-poisoning. Many people are not so immune as they believe, and it is common sense to wear leather gloves with gauntlets and a shirt with long sleeves. If care is taken to prevent the poison-ivy from touching the face, and if the clothes, including the gloves, are burned or thoroughly washed after use, severe poisoning may be avoided. Poison-ivy vines climbing on trees should be severed at the base and as much of the vine as possible pulled away from the tree. Often the roots of the tree and weed are so intertwined that grubbing is impossible without injury to the tree. Close mowing of the poison-ivy shoots at frequent intervals is the only remedy. Roots and stems removed in grubbing should be burned or otherwise destroyed, since the dry material is almost as poisonous as the fresh. Care must be taken to keep out of the smoke. Old plants of poison-ivy produce an abundance of seeds, and these are freely disseminated, especially by birds. A poison-ivy seedling 2 months old usually has a root that one mowing will not kill. Seedling plants at the end of the first year have well-established underground runners that only grubbing or chemicals will kill. Seedlings are a constant threat as long as old poison-ivy is in the neighborhood. Plowing is of little value in combating poison-ivy unless followed by persistent stirring with a cultivator or harrow, to keep all roots loosened from the soil. Otherwise plowing merely propagates the weed. Mowing with a scythe or sickle is a common method of attacking poison-ivy, but it has little effect on the roots unless frequently repeated. The number of cuttings required to kill depends upon the age of the plants and the size of the roots, but is seldom less than four. New shoots should be cut as soon as the first leaf on each stem is full size. Cutting either earlier or later delays eradication.