WHEAT 55 



least tendency for the soil and the plant to be pressed 

 upward. 



(4) A saving of 1 to 2 pecks of seed wheat per acre when 

 the seed is drilled. 



The increased yield from drilling at the Kentucky Experiment 

 Station averaged 4 bushels per acre. 



The slight ridges left by the grain drill are advantageous 

 in the colder parts of Virginia and Kentucky, and still more so 

 further north, since they hold the snow and thus keep the plants 

 warmer than they would be if exposed to very severe cold, with- 

 out the covering of snow. This consideration does not apply to 

 most Southern States, in which snow normally lies on the ground 

 for only a small portion of the winter. 



56. Seeding machines. Of the several types of 

 grain drills, the disk drills (Fig. 20) are preferable, 

 especially where there is much litter, stone, or other 

 obstruction. For land that is clean and in excellent 

 condition, the hoe drill and the shoe drill are also satis- 

 factory. Most drills are provided with fertilizer attach- 

 ments, and attachments for sowing grass or clover seed 

 can also be purchased. 



Broadcast sowing is usually done by hand. Yet 

 there are cheap and efficient broadcast seeders that 

 may be hung from the sower's shoulders; there are 

 also broadcast seeders that may be attached to the rear 

 end of a wagon and driven by the revolution of the 

 wagon wheels. 



57. Quantity of seed. In the wheat-growing states, 

 great numbers of experiments have been made on this 

 point. The results have been variable from year to year, 

 with different soils and climates, and with different varie- 



