42 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 



farmers living on the more hungry soils of the lower 

 Atlantic and Gulf states. 



Sowing. One of the following methods of 

 sowing sorghum is usually adopted : First, it is sown 

 broadcast by hand and covered with the harrow; 

 second, by the grain drill, all the tubes or only every 

 alternate tube being used ; third, by hand in shallow 

 furrows marked out by the plow ; or, fourth, by the 

 grain drill in single or double rows with a space of 

 thirty to forty-two inches between them. The first 

 method is usually practiced by those who have no 

 grain drill, since it is convenient to sow the seed thus. 

 The chief objections to sowing sorghum by this plan 

 are, first, the seed is imperfectly covered and at vary- 

 ing depths, hence it grows up more or less unevenly ; 

 second, some of the seed in dry weather fails to 

 germinate ; third, when sown thus it cannot be culti- 

 vated, which, under very dry conditions, may lead 

 to failure in the crop. The second method buries 

 the seed at a uniform depth, hence the germination 

 of the seed may be expected to be more uniform, but 

 the objections from smothering through the presence 

 of weeds and through injury from dry weather are 

 much the same as when the seed is sown by hand, 

 though less in degree. 



The use of only every other drill tube when sow- 

 ing the seed insures a more bulky growth of the crop, 

 but at the expense of the fine character of the growth. 

 The third method is only resorted to when a small 

 quantity is to be sown in the absence of a grain drill, 

 and when at the same time it is desirable to cultivate 

 the young crop. The fourth method is followed 

 when a large area is to be grown, and when it is 



