2IO FARM CROPS 



more properly with the drill. It may be put in under 

 dry conditions more deeply than wheat, as the 

 young 1 sprouts of rye can better endure conditions 

 of privation than wheat. The amount of seed sown 

 is usually from 6 to 8 pecks; more on poor than 

 on rich soil. It should be sown even more thickly 

 than other grain, as it has less power to stool. 



Varieties. There ire two varieties of rye. One 

 of these is known as winter and the other as spring 

 rye. The winter variety chiefly is grown. The 

 spring variety does not usually yield so well as the 

 other. The best time for sowing winter rye can 

 only be stated in a general way, as the time will 

 vary with the locality. It ought to be sown so 

 early that it will make enough of top to protect 

 itself in winter and yet not early enough to be 

 injured with the leaf rust that sometimes over- 

 takes early sown rye. In the Northern states, the 

 best time to sow winter rye is usually from the 

 first to the middle of September. Going south- 

 ward, the time of sowing will be later. 



Spring rye cannot be sown too early providing 

 the land is in proper condition to receive the seed. 

 If winter rye is sown so late that the plants do not 

 have time to make a reasonable growth before 

 winter, in cold climates, the crop may be greatly 

 injured, but where the snowfall is reasonably sure, 

 late sowing will be more safe. 



The rye crop is harvested like any other cereal. 

 At the present time it is usually cut with the grain 

 harvester. Owing to the stiff character of the 

 straw it has the great advantage over other cereals 

 that it seldom falls down. It is also ripe one or two 

 weeks ahead of winter wheat, and, therefore, the 

 harvesting does not interfere with the harvesting 



