THE YOUNG FARMER'S MANUAL. 359 



three bushels of oats, two and a half to three of barley, and one 

 and a half of wheat. "When more than that amount of wheat is 

 sowed it tillers but little, and the heads are very short, and the 

 grain small. I have sowed at the rate of four or more bushels 

 of oats per acre, and the straw was slender, the kernels small, 

 and but a small number on each straw. 



513. I am well satisfied, beyond a doubt, that it requires at 

 least half a bushel of seed per acre less when it is drilled in than 

 when it is sowed broadcast ; and that I always obtain several 

 bushels more per acre when the seed is put in with a drill than 

 when it is sowed broadcast. When grain is drilled in, it is all 

 covered of a uniform depth, and consequently it vegetates alike, 

 and grows more uniformly and evenly, and stands more evenly 

 on the ground. When grain is sowed broadcast, even with some 

 machines, the grain in some places is scattered at the rate of four 

 or five bushels per acre ; while in other places, when the wind 

 blows, the proportion is less than one bushel per acre. And 

 more than this, some of the kernels are not covered at all, and 

 some of them are covered two, three, and four inches deep ; and 

 a vast deal of it is covered so deep in mellow soil by the feet of 

 the team that it never comes up at all ; and much of it that does 

 come up after a long time never amounts to anything at all but 

 straw. The question now arises, 



WHAT IS THE MOST PROPER DEPTH TO COVER SEEDS? 



514. We all know that if seeds are covered so deep that all 

 the substance of the kernel is exhausted in forming the roots and 

 stems before it reaches the surface of the ground, the sprout must 

 die. And we acknowledge also that if a kernel is not covered 

 deep enough it does not flourish luxuriantly. That the depth at 

 which seeds are covered materially influences the germination of 

 them no one will deny. The shallower grain is covered, provid 

 ing it is covered sufficiently deep to insure a healthy and good 

 germination, the better it will be for the plant. Small seeds need 

 only a light sprinkling of earth. If they are covered deep, if 



