70 PRINCIPLES OF FARM PRACTICE 



first, when to plant; second, how deep to plant; third, how 

 far apart to plant. 



The answer to the first varies with the length of the growing 

 season and climatic conditions. The second depends largely 

 upon the size of the seed. It is important to get the seed 

 into the soil in the best position to give the plant a good 

 start. It may be sufficient to scatter the seeds over the 

 surface of the ground, as with some of the grasses; or it 

 may require a uniform depth, as with corn. The third de- 

 pends upon the size of the mature plant, and must take into 

 account the room necessary for its best development. Some- 

 times, as with beets, the seeds are planted thickly; after- 

 ward the young plants are thinned, leaving only the strongest 

 and most vigorous. If the crop is a cultivated one, sufficient 

 distance must be allowed between rows for easy cultivation. 

 Information concerning these three points and other points 

 about crops, especially garden crops, is often condensed into 

 a tabular form known as a planting table. 



The questions of depth and distance are often best answered 

 by the use of a machine for planting, one especially designed 

 for planting the seed of a particular crop or easily adjusted 

 to it. Machines are now available for planting all of our 

 common crops. They not only do planting better than by 

 hand but save much time and labor. 



Cultivation. Crops, known as cultivated crops, such as 

 corn, potatoes, and cotton, must be intertilled from time to 

 time in order to destroy weeds and to conserve moisture. 

 Cultivation may also help in making plant food available 

 and in enabling the soil to retain water from rainfall. 



The principles of water conservation by means of a mulch 

 have already been presented. The effect of weeds on growing 

 crops is too well known to need further comment here. How- 



