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this county. The first four were sown all broadcast. The ground was then very rough and 

 the country new, and no machinery of any kind was used in sowing or harvesting. From 

 the roughness of the ground, which was somewhat of a shelter to the crop, the stand was 

 generally good. In our fifth crop — the sod was by this time all rotten and the ground very 

 smooth and level — we found that by sowing it broadcast, our process of "dragging" it 

 in did not bury the seed deep enough, and that our violent northern winds blew what little 

 dirt there was from around the roots of the wheat, and in many instances blew the plants 

 entirely out of the ground or left them merely hanging by one or two roots, from which 

 but a poor stalk or head could ever be harvested; hence our crop of 1871 was a failure 

 in many places. In sowing our sixth crop many conceived the idea of deep drilling, and 

 from actual observation and experience the following facts are evident. Wheat that is 

 drilled in deep, east and west, and not rolled after, is equivalent to the planting ot it in 

 small trenches and deep enough in the ground to draw plenty of moisture ; and as our 

 strong winds are either from the north or south they will in this case pass directly over 

 the drill s of wheat in the trenches without doing any injury whatever, as the roots are so 

 deep in the ground as to be below the force of the winds, and the dirt on the sides is 

 blown into the trenches, thus planting the roots deeper into the ground and saving it from 

 the frosts that winter-kill our wheat. The trenches that the drills make also answer admi- 

 rably for surface-drainage, in connection with some main furrows that should be opened, 

 north and south, with the plow, and cleaned up with the shovel. This county intends in the 

 coming wheat-crop to test fully the efficiency of drilling over broadcast-sowing. Of the 

 last crop, nine-tenths was drilled. Nemaha : The advantages of drilling spring-wheat over 

 broadcast-sowing are so evident here that no farmer who can get the use of a drill will 

 have his wheat put in otherwise. The same is true of other grains. About the time of 

 spring-seeding here there is much windy weather, and the most expert hand fails to distri- 

 bute the seed evenly over the ground, the grain coming up in thick and thin streaks. The 

 thick will ripen first and produce an inferior quality of grain, while the weeds will grow in 

 the thin places. The uneven depths of covering of broadcast-sown grain is a great dis- 

 advantage to the crop, cairsiug it to grow and mature unevenly, while some drills leave the 

 surface of the ground smoother and in a better condition for the harrow. In 1858, when 

 this county first began to settle up, many of the best farmers tried spring-wheat broadcast, 

 for several years, with but partial success. Some were nearly discouraged, but, having 

 procured drills,* the same men have become the most successful wheat-growers in the country, 

 and annually market hundreds of bushels of the finest wheat. A gentleman in this town 

 (a good farmer) for several years tried to raise spring- wheat and other grain by broadcast- 

 sowing, only partially succeeding ; he finally concluded it was not a good country for wheat, 

 and sold his farm. The purchaser uses the drill, and succeeds every year on the same ground 

 where the other failed. The use of the drill is an advance step in the progress of agricul- 

 ture. No country is better adapted to its use than the prairies, and the time is near when 

 it will be as indispensable to the well-ordered farm as the wagon. 



Summary. — The followiug conclusious are presented : 



1. Fifty -two per cent, of the winter-wheat and thirty per cent, of the 

 spring- wheat, or about forty per cent, of the aggregate of both kinds, 

 represent the proportion seeded with a drill. 



2. Nine-tenths of the testimony given asserts the superiority of the 

 drill for winter-wheat. 



3. An average increase of one-tenth in the yield is assured by the 

 use of the drill. 



4. A large majority of observers declare that, in most soils in which 

 injury resulting from frost is liable to occur, drilling prevents or re- 

 duces the loss. 



5. The majority assert that in certain clay soils with rolling surfaces, 

 some advantage accrues in surface-drainage by the use of the drill ; while 

 in some heavy soils with flat surfaces the water freezing in the dri'1-fur- 

 row does positive injury. ' 



G. The broadcast-seeder predominates in spring-wheat regions, be- 

 cause better adapted thau the drill to seeding in unplowed corn-fields, 

 on rough surfaces, and in weedy fields. 



7. About one-sixth of the seed-wheat (or 0,000,000 bushels for the 

 crop) might be saved by the exclusive use of the drill. The average 

 quantity of seed used per acre in seeding winter-wheat is 1.38 bushels. 



8. The drill is used for seeding in connection with thorough culture, 

 especially in winter-wheat growing; the broadcast-seeder for imperfect 

 culture and rough surfaces; and sowing by hand is the method adopted 

 for small patches and first efforts of impecunious pioneers. 



