154 CAMPBELL'S SOIL CULTURE MANUAL 



grain. The stalk sent up from an imperfect seed bed 

 is of slow growth and scant of leaves. The stalk which 

 runs upward from a perfect seed bed spreads out and 

 probably branches, and the leaves are abundant and 

 strong. If there is an abundance of humus in the 

 soil there is stooling out of the stalk so that instead of 

 one upright stem there are two or three or mayhap a 

 dozen stems sent up to bear flowers and grain. It there- 

 fore follows that where manure has been used in a man- 



A Modern Manure Spreader. 



ner to develop in the soil the greatest amount of humus, 

 so that plant food is more than sufficient for the needs 

 of the plant, a very much smaller quantity of seed should 

 be sown per acre than on soil less favorable to growth. 

 If there is too much seed per acre the grain will stool 

 too much and make so heavy a growth that it will stand 

 up. Heavy stooling results in the weak straw carrying 

 down the grain, and in this condition the grain will not 

 full and it often happens it cannot be harvested. 



The right use of manure therefore, partially compen- 



