532 THE HOME, FARM AND BUSINESS CYCLOPAEDIA. 



the rainfall so much as the temperature that appears to govern the extent 

 and prevalence of wheat-growing, for in some of the wetter districts capital 

 wheat is produced. Wheat, as is well known, is more sensitive of tem- 

 perature than any other of the cereals. Latitude, altitude, and exposure 

 mainly regulate temperature. 



A summer fallow is now less frequently resorted to as a preparation for 

 winter wheat than formerly, and wheat generally occupies a place in the 

 rotation following clover and roots. A fine tilth, which is so desirable 

 for spring grain, is not specially required for autumn sown wheat, nor is a 

 very dry seed-bed approved of. The time of sowing is very much a mat- 

 ter of local experience, and is more or less regulated by the weather and 

 fitness of the ground.w Middle of September, for Ontario, is the common 

 seed-time. Bare fallows are, as a rule, seeded earlier. Light land is sel- 

 dom too wet for sowing winter wheat, but when a good tilth is obtained 

 on heavy soils it is better to sow than run the risk of wet weather setting 

 in that might delay the work unduly. 



The quantity of seed to be sown on the acre is very various and has 

 given rise to controversy. That quantity is best which yields the largest 

 crop, and the solution of that point rests on the experience of the indivi- 

 dual grower. The answer depends on many considerations ; the quality 

 and condition of the land, the climate, the goodness of the seed, the time 

 of sowing, and the mode of sowing. One bushel per acre may suffice 

 where the conditions are all favourable ; six pecks are a common seeding : 

 and even three bushels may not be found too much under other circum- 

 stances. Whatever be the quantity, it is desirable that the ground be 

 fairly occupied by plants when the spring and early summer growth com- 

 mences. It is not now common to seed land so thickly as was done for- 

 merly, when broadcast sowing was common; but our forefathers were not 

 fools, and if the plants had not stood close together in the days of weeds 

 and wet land, the weeds would have over-mastered the grain. 



In cold and elevated districts what is called " thin seeding " is never 

 practised, and, as a rule, the most seed is sown on the poorer soils, as the 

 plants on such land do not tiller, and therefore a greater number of roots 

 are wanted. This has been controverted by ingenious persons, who in- 

 quire, if ten plants require one foot of land to perfect their growth, what 

 effect may be expected but starvation if twenty plants are grown on the 

 same space ? Experience, however, outweighs theoretical considerations. 

 The plant when small and week occupies less space, and in consequence 

 more stems or stalks are then required for mutual shelter and support ; 



