180 One Thousand Questions in Agriculture 



cover crop; the deeper plowing being done to put it under. Guano 

 can be applied earlier in the winter than nitrate, which can be turned 

 in with the cover crop, while the former may be sown with the seed 

 to promote the winter growth. Whether you are losing your nitrate 

 or not the chemist might determine for you by before-and-after 

 analyses. If you are a good observer you may detect loss by absence 

 of the effects you desire to secure. 



Soaking Seeds. 



Do you think it a good practice to soak seeds before planting? 



It is more desirable with some seeds than others and when the 

 ground is rather dry or the sowing time rather late, than when 

 sowing in moister ground or earlier in the rainy season, when heavy 

 rains are to be expected. Soaking is simply a way to be sure that 

 the seed covering has ample moisture for softening and the kernel 

 has what it requires for awakening its germ and meeting its needs. 

 The soil may not always have enough to spare for these purposes 

 and germination may be delayed or started and arrested. Ordinarily 

 seeds can be helped by soaking a few hours in water at ordinary 

 temperatures. Some very hard seeds like those of acacia trees, etc., 

 are helped by hot water — even near the boiling point. 



Irrigating Palms. 



My palms are quite small, but they do not seem to groiv; they seem to 

 be drying up. 



The growth of palms is proportional to the amount of soil mois- 

 ture available, providing it is not in excess and not too alkaline. 

 Some palms are quite drouth-resisting, but it is a mistake to think 

 of a palm as a desert plant and try to make a desert for it. A 

 young palm, especially, needs regular and ample water supply until 

 it gets well established. Your plants may be drying up, or they may 

 have had too much frost or too much alkali. If they are not too 

 far gone, they will come out later if you give them regular moisture 

 and cultivation. 



Water from Wells or Streams. 



One of our neighbors insists that zvater from a well is, in the long 

 run, very hard on the land, and that irrigation zvater is much to be 

 preferred. 



There is no characteristic and permanent difiference between 

 waters from "wells and waters from streams so far as irrigation is 

 concerned. The character depends upon the sources from which 

 both are derived. Some wells may carry too much mineral matter in 

 the form of salt, alkali, etc., and some stream waters sometimes carry 

 considerable alkali. For this reason some wells may be better than 

 streams and some streams better than wells. There is no general 

 rule in the matter. Your neighbor may be right as applied to your 

 location, and may know from his experience that the well water 



