OF AGRICULTURE. 105 



row, cultivator or shovel plow, is still extensively 

 used, and well suited to many soils. 



The second method, is "drilling" which, in the 

 past few years, has been gaining favor with the best 

 and most progressive farmers. The greatest majority 

 of those who have tried this method, would be wil- 

 ling to give it up. Some of the most important 

 results claimed for the drill system, are as follows : 



1. The quantity of seed may be regulated to suit 

 the quality of the soil, 



2. A smaller quantity of seed is used to the acre . 



3. The depth of the seed is uniform, and the depth 

 may be suited to the soil. 



4. The plants shade the soil less completely, admit 

 sunshine and air ; the wheat less liable to rust. 



5. Small quantities of such fertilizers as guano, 

 plaster, ashes, bone-dust, etc., can be applied more 

 directly to the wheat, by a proper attachment to the 

 drill, and with more economy. 



Harvesting the Wheat Crop. The time of wheat 

 harvest, must be determined by the condition of the 

 grain. The cutting should be done before the crop 

 is fully ripe, or, as soon as the grain has passed out 

 of the " milk state," that is, as soon as the inner 

 part has become firm, but is still soft enough to yield 

 readily to the thumb-nail when pressed into it, the 

 crop then is at its greatest value. 



The straw then is of a greenish-yellow, and there 

 is still a green tinge about the head. If the wheat 

 is allowed to stand three or four days after it reaches 

 this stage, the straw and head assumes a brown 

 appearance the crop has become dead ripe. The 



grain and straw have then both become less valuable. 

 5* 



