284 THE WHEAT CTJLTURIST. 



THE PROPER DEPTH TO COVER WHEAT. 



I believe that every intelligent farmer will admit that 

 wheat may be sowed too shallow, as well as too deep. 

 A thinner covering is required in a close heavy soil, than 

 in one light, gravelly, or sandy. The following experi- 

 ments were made by Petri, the results of which would 

 vary with the moisture or dryness of the soil. They 

 are given as a specimen of trials of this kind, which if 

 often repeated by farmers, would afford them much val- 

 uable information : 



Seed sown to Appeared above Number of plants 



a depth of ground in that came up. 



1-2 inch 11 days 7-8ths. 



1 " ...... 12 " all. 



2 " 18 " 7-8ths. 



3 " 20 " 6-8ths. 



4 " 21 "....... 1-2. 



5 " 22 " 3-8ths. 



6 " 23 " l-8th. 



Judging from the unusually great length of time here 

 recorded for the plants in the foregoing experiments to 

 come up, I think the seed must have been sowed in 

 very dry ground, or the weather must have been very 

 cold, as it is extremely uncommon for wheat, or any 

 other grain, when planted under circumstances at all 

 favorable to vegetation, to be so long coming up. Un- 

 der favorable circumstances, wheat will come up in six 

 or eight days ; and in warm weather, where the soil is 

 tolerably moist, wheat will come up in one week, and 

 make leaves so large that the field will appear quite 

 green. 



In order to test the comparative influence of plant 



