356 THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 



SOWING GRASS SEED, 



506. The tyro would sow more evenly to hold a round ball of 

 wood, as large as a hen's egg of ordinary size not an ill-shapen 

 polygon in his hand, grasping the desired amount of seed with 

 the thumb and fore finger. In sowing grass seed not in the 

 chaff it is best to sow the field loth ways, sowing half the de 

 sired amount each way. This is far better than to sow it all at 

 one sowing, because it distributes it more evenly. 



507. If the ridges and middle furrows are about forty-two feet, 

 equidistant, twenty-two feet from ridge to furrow, it is better 

 to sow such a strip at five throughs instead of four, as in sowing 

 grain. In sowing grass seed by stakes, and especially very light 

 grass seed, it is best to sow at one through only about eight and 

 a half feet. Some farmers sow at one through twelve feet in 

 width. But it is difficult to sow so wide a strip at one through 

 without making balks. 



THICK AND THIN SEEDING. 



508. It seems hardly necessary to state, that if grain is sowed 

 very thick on the ground, but little or no seed will be produced ; 

 and if it is sowed too thin, not so much grain will be produced as 

 there would be if it were sowed thicker. There is little danger 

 of getting grass seed of any kind too thick. Not half of our best 

 farmers sow as much per acre, by one half or more, as would be 

 most profitabfe. But there is danger of sowing grain too thick, 

 and too thin also. Now if grain can be too thick and too thin, 

 in order to produce the largest amount per acre there must be a 

 medium quantity, which, if sowed, will produce more grain per 

 acre than any other amount, either smaller or greater. The idea, 

 then, is, to determine with any degree of certainty how much 

 grain per acre, when evenly sowed, will produce the greatest 

 amount of grain. There are very many collateral considerations 

 which must not be disregarded in deciding how much grain to 

 sow per acre. Different kinds of grain, in order to obtain the 

 largest amount, require a different amount of seed per acre. Dif- 



