412 



SOW 



sow 



and that other seeds do not rise at 

 all when they are more than two 

 inches under the surface. And in 

 general those seeds, the body of 

 which is thrown above the surface 

 in vegetating, should have the less 

 quantity of soil above them, that 

 they may not meet with too much 

 resistance in rising; such as kidney 

 beans and many other sorts. Also 

 the same seeds may, and ought to 

 be buried deeper in a light and 

 dry, than in a heavy and moist soil. 

 When the ground is rolled after 

 sowing, the seeds will vegetate 

 the nearer to the surface ; and 

 therefore they do not need to be 

 sown so deep, as when the rolhng 

 is omitted. 



To determine what is the right 

 depth, in a doubtful case. Mr. Tull 

 has suggested an excellent method. 

 "Take a dozen of sticks for guages; 

 mark the tirst at half an inch from 

 the end ; the next at an in<h ; at>d 

 go on, increasing half an inch (o 

 each. Then, in the sort of ground 

 you intend to sow, make a row of 

 twenty holes, with the half inch 

 guage ; put in twenty good seeds 

 and cover them, and stick up the 

 guage at the end of the row. Then 

 do the like with the rest of the 

 sticks. Observe how the seeds 

 prosper in the different rows, and 

 you will discover at what depth that 

 kind of seed should be buried." 



However useful this experiment 

 may be, it can be of little or no 

 use in the old tield husbandry ; for, 

 in the broadcast u-ay of sownig, tlie 

 ficeds will be difTerently covered. 

 But sowing fields with the drill, in 

 equi-distant rows, when horse-hoe- 

 tng is not intended, cannot be too 



much commended. It is worth 



while to do it if it were only on 



account of the seed that ma}^ be 



saved by it. JMuch seed is wasted 



in the common way of sowuig; 



for some of the seeds will be so 



deeply covered, that they will not 



I vegetate: Some will be left on the 



] surface, which is a pre) for birds, 



1 and perhaps leads them to scratch 



I up some of the rest : Some will 



! lie so near the surface as to be de- 



I slroyed by variation of weather, 



i being alternately wetted and 



! scorched. And of those seeds 



1 that grow, some rise earlier, and 



some later, so that the crop does 



not ripen equally. The seeds 



I will fall from the hand of the sower, 



too thick in some spots, and too 



thin in others, by means of the nn- 



evenness of the surface ; and the 



harrowing perhaps will increase 



the inequality ; so that many will 



be so crowded as to be unfruitful, 



while the rest have more room 



than is necessary. 



But when the seeds are put in 

 with the drill, they will all rise 

 nearly together ; not so much as 

 one seed will be wasted, or lost, 

 supposing them sown at the right 

 distance ; each one may have so 

 much room as is most conducive 

 to its growth ; no starved heads 

 will appear, and the whole will 

 ripen together. Half a bushel of 

 wheat, or even a less quantity, in 

 this way, will seed an acre suffi- 

 ciently. How great must be this 

 advantage at a time of great scar- 

 city of seed ! 



It is difficult to determine the 

 quantify of seed, that is best to be 

 sown in the broadcast way. Doubt- 



