FARM MACHINERY AND IMPLEMENTS 167 



tilled are small. A variety of tillage implements is advantageous, and 

 the selection should meet the needs of the owner. 



Seeding Machines. Until within the last century much of the 

 sowing and planting of seeds was done by hand. Recently the broad- 

 cast seeder has taken the place of broadcasting by hand, and the drill 

 and planter have supplanted hand planting of seeds either in hills or rows. 

 The end-gate seeder, used extensively for seeding oats, and the knapsack 

 seeders, used for grasses and clovers, are an improvement over hand 

 seeding, but are subject to much the same defects as hand seeding. The 

 speed of the distributor, the weight of the seed and the condition of the 



A MUCH USED FORM OF CORN CULTIVATOR. l 



wind all affect the distance seed will be thrown. Great care is, there- 

 fore, necessary in the spacing of the passages back and forth across the 

 field in order to avoid uneven seeding. 



Broadcast seeders with long hoppers carried on two wheels give 

 much better results than the sorts above mentioned. They are provided 

 either with the agitator feed or the force feed. The latter is the more 

 satisfactory. The former has a revolving agitator that passes over each 

 opening from which seed issues and prevents stoppage. The rate of seed- 

 ing is controlled by adjusting the size of the openings in the bottoms of 

 the hoppers. The seed either falls on a vibrating board or passes through 



1 Courtesy of The International Harvester Company, Chicago, 111, 

 40 



