THE WHEAT GULTTTRIST. 305 



nomically, only where there is an abundance of cheap 

 labor. If a farmer has no drill, and has time to spare, 

 it will pay him to put an acre of land into first-rate con- 

 dition ; and dibble in the seed. When experimenting 

 on a small scale with the production of new varieties, 

 the seed may be dibbled in. 



As the stools of wheat will tiller sufficiently to occupy 

 the entire ground if the soil be rich, if the kernels be 

 planted seven inches apart in the drills and the same 

 distance in the rows, the yield of grain will be fully as 

 large as if more seed had been planted. 



In Stephens' " Book of the Farm," an English work, 

 the author has penned a paragraph on dibbling-in grain. 

 But a concluding sentence leads one to infer that he 

 knows nothing practically about this system of seeding ; 

 as he says, " It is asserted by those who have put in 

 wheat by dibbling, that the yield will be five quarters 

 and a half (forty-four bushels) per acre ; and that one 

 bushel of seed is sufficient for an acre." 



The " Country Gentleman " contains a brief account 

 of a Michigan farmer, who attempted to dibble in wheat 

 on a large scale, by constructing a roller having ridges 

 and creases, similar to Beckwith's drill (page 306). But 

 the experiment was doubtless too rude to prove anything, 

 either for or against, the system of dibbling. 



The superintendent of the County Poor-house, hav- 

 ing a large number of men under his supervision, with- 

 out pay, had an acre of land prepared as for a carrot 

 bed, and the seed dibbled in by hand. It was a tedious 

 process. But the yield was no heavier than if the seed 

 had been put in with a drill. 



The idea that by pressing the soil around the seed, or 

 by pressing the soil before the seed is put in, will pro- 



