COUCH GRASS. _Agropyron repens_ (L.) Beauv. (_Triticum repens_ L.) =Other common names.=—Dog-grass, quick-grass, quack-grass, quitch-grass, scutch-grass, twitch-grass, witch-grass, wheat-grass, Chandler’s grass, creeping wheat-grass, devil’s-grass, durfa-grass, Durfee-grass, Dutch-grass, Fin’s grass, quake-grass. (Fig. 9.) =Range and habitat.=—Couch grass, like so many other pernicious weeds, was introduced into this country from Europe, and is now a most troublesome pest in cultivated ground, causing the farmer a loss of thousands of dollars annually by taking possession of fields and crowding out valuable crops. It is most abundant from Maine to Maryland, and westward to Minnesota and Missouri, but is rather sparingly distributed in the South. It is gaining ground on farms on the Pacific slope. [Illustration: FIG. 9.—Couch grass (_Agropyron repens_ (L.) Beauv.).] =Description.=—This rather coarse grass produces several stems, 1 to 3 feet high, from a long, creeping, jointed rootstock, and bears densely flowered spike-like heads resembling those of rye or beardless wheat. The stems are round, smooth, thickened at the joints, and hollow, bearing from five to seven leaves. These have a long cleft sheath, and are rough on the upper surface. The heads or spikes are terminal, solitary, compressed, with two rows of spikelets on a wavy and flattened axis. Couch grass is one of the most difficult weeds to eradicate, on account of the long jointed rootstock, each joint of which is capable of producing a new plant. Every bit of the rootstock must therefore be removed from the soil or killed in order to eradicate it. =Part used.=—The most important part of this grass, not only agriculturally but also pharmaceutically, is its long, tough rhizome or rootstock, creeping along underneath the ground and pushing in every direction. It is pale yellow, smooth, about one-eighth of an inch in diameter, with joints at intervals of about an inch from which slender branching rootlets are produced. One of the best methods of destroying this weed is to plow up the roots and burn them. They need not be burned, however, but may be saved and prepared for the drug market. After the rootstocks have been collected and washed the rootlets should be removed and the rhizome or rootstock (not the rootlets) cut into short pieces about two-fifths of an inch long. An ordinary feed-cutting machine may be used for this purpose. These should then be dried as suggested in the general instructions. In the drug trade this plant is generally known as dog grass or triticum. As found in the stores, it is in the form of small, angular pieces, about one-eighth to one-fourth of an inch long, straw colored, shining, and hollow. These pieces are odorless but have a somewhat sweetish taste. The fluid extract prepared from dog grass is used in kidney and bladder troubles.