DRY-FARMING 



condition of the soil. But as a general 

 rule in dry-farming the writer recom- 

 mends deep seeding. However, land that 

 is fall-plowed and well-settled need not 

 be seeded as deep as loose spring- 

 plowed ground. Again, the subsurface 

 packer makes it possible to sow shallower 

 than where it is not used. The best 

 depth is the nearest point to the surface 

 at which perfect sprouting is possible, or, 

 in other words, where the right degree of 

 warmth and moisture is present. But 

 whether the seed is put in 2, 4, or 6 inches 

 deep is a purely local problem of which 

 the farmer himself must be the best 

 judge. 



Lastly, thin seeding. It would be 

 interesting to try and compute the enor- 

 mous annual waste of seed in the semi- 

 arid regions of the West. Unfortu- 

 nately, not only does this superfluous 

 seed represent a large loss in ready cash, 

 140 



