Teaser Tuesday - Witchgrass: A Pipe Dream

Here is my teaser from Witchgrass: A Pipe Dream by Dave Wilkinson (Page 1):

Most gardeners hate witchgrass. Of all weeds it is one of the most persistent and adaptable. Any small piece of rhizome left in the soil can become an aggressive plant ready to take over the plot. Witchgrass is hard to pull. Roots are deep, and break off easily. Any part left in the ground will grow again. Farmers say the species isn't even good as hay, not as good as timothy or alfalfa. Some call it quickgrass.

Early New England colonists blamed evil people for this garden invader. In the seventeenth century villagers would speak this way:

"The surly woman living alone on her dead husband's estate. She goes into the woods and consorts with the Devil. Signs his book. Fornicates with him. Eats mushrooms. She and the Devil send witchgrass to harass the virtuous and the Godly. Let us hang this witch and seize her rich farm."