236 Our Farming. 



I sow six or seven quarts of common clover seed per acre, 

 when sown alone. Less gives a very good stand, but not always 

 thick enough. It is not wise, however, to get it too thick. I pre- 

 fer a moderate stand of strong, healthy plants, rather than an over- 

 crowded stand of more puny ones. Many sow by hand, yet. This 

 is not wise. Seed sowers cost but little and do much better and 

 faster work. I do not like the wheelbarrow seeder or those that 

 run with a bow. Those like the Cahoon, that run by turning a 

 crank, are the best. They throw a continuous stream of seed. 

 The bow machines do not, and under all circumstances are not as 

 good. Some morning when you get almost done, with your 

 wheelbarrow machine, you must stop on account of mud on wheel. 

 I can go right on with my machine and finish. When I bought 

 mine I paid $10. They are only about $5 now. I sow clover 

 seed and Hungarian about twenty-one feet wide, unless in a high 

 wind ; a little narrower then. One can get over the ground in a 

 hurry. Getting up at daylight, I often sow my twelve acres be- 

 fore I stop for breakfast. It is a hard job to hurry so, but condi- 

 tions are just right and it must go in. I can well afford to rest the 

 remainder of the day, if I get it in well. I do not use stakes at 

 all, but follow the drill rows of wheat. To do good work, of 

 course one must walk and turn at a uniform, steady gait. Machine 

 should be kept well oiled with good caster oil. Use coal oil occa- 

 sionally to cut the gum. Seed should be entirely clean, no sticks 

 or strings or anything in it to stop steady flow of seed. If wind 

 is such that you must sow otherwise than with drill marks, pitch 

 forks make good stakes, if it is not frozen too solidly. Tie a strip 

 of white cotton cloth on top. If frozen hard, use stakes set in 

 pieces of board about fifteen -inches square. Just bore a hole in 

 the centre of board and drive in the stake. My son, when quite a 

 small boy, thought of this one morning when I found it impossible 

 to stick in a fork, and quickly had some made for me. When you 

 first get a machine, practice with it a little beforehand without any 

 seed in. Always have seeder oiled up right beforehand and every- 

 thing ready to start at daylight, so as to get seed in \vhen it is just 

 right. Some years this time is short. If sowing more than twenty 

 acres, I would have help and more than one seeder. The gain might 

 pay for half a dozen in a single year, or even a good deal more. 



I sow timothy seed about sixteen feet wide. For this I want 

 a perfectly still morning, if possible. I have never sown the two 

 seeds mixed, as some do. Clover being heavier will be thrown 

 further. How many times I have seen a field where they had been 

 sown together and the timothy was in streaks failed to reach as 

 far as the clover ! Go over the field twice, once with each kind 

 of seed, if you sow both, and then you should be able to do a per- 

 fect job. With a good machine it does not take long. 



But now, when shall we sow timothy? That depends on 

 what you want. If you want timothy hay, with a little clover 



