78 ECONOMY OF FARMING. 



In this connexion, it may be well to add the result of experiments on the different 

 kinds of oil here mentioned, and some others, which Veit gives. Vol. l.,p. 231. The 

 trial in each case, was with 4 loths (or 2 oz.). 



14 hours. 



13 ^' 



lU " 



11 « 



10 « 



9i « 



9^ " 



9 " 



9 « 



8 « 



10^ « 



Various experiments have been tried to determine the proper depth at which seeds 

 «hould be planted. The following result is given by Burger, Vol. I., p. 286, with 

 respect to maize or Indian corn : 



That which was planted at the depth of 

 No. 



"The Nos. 8, 9, 11,' were dug up after 22 days, and it was found that No. 8 had an 

 inch more to grow to reach the surface of the earth. Nos. 9 and 11 had just sprouted, 

 but were short, and were three inches below the surface. No. 10 came up in 17^ 

 days, but the tender leaf remained only 6 days green, and then withered. There is 

 no experiment which shows more clearly the advantage of a shallow planting in a 

 soil not too loose, and trodden down, than this. The more shallow the seed was 

 covered by the earth, the more rapidly the sprout made its appearance, and the 

 stronger afterwards was tlie stalk. The deeper the seed lay, the longer it remained 

 before it came to the surface. Four inches was too deep for the maize, and must there- 

 fore be for yet smaller grain kernels. It, indeed, came up at that depth, but in the 

 experiment made in the hot time of the year, in June, on the 15th day after it was 

 planted ; in the colder season of Spring it would have been 18 or 20 days. If the 

 germ-leaves of the seed lie too long under ground, they begin to get twisted, and will 

 be bleached and die. as in No. 10. or form weak plants, as in Nos. 7 and 11. 



" Petri gives an experiment, made with respect to rye in Oct. 1817, with the follow- 

 ing results : 



Depth of Seed. Appeared ahovc ground in No. of Plants that came upu 



11 days, ^' 



all 



i 



i 



i 



"The root-stalk forms itself always next below the surface of the ground, and if we 

 place the grain deep it must first put out it^ sprouts to the surface, and form its side- 

 branches in a nearer connexion with the air. We never find that the sucker-roots 

 are ranged from below to above, but the contrary. 



"As a proof the correctness of this opinion, I will here give the interesting experi- 

 ment of Ugazy in Andre, Okon. Neuicrkeiten (Economical Novelties), July, 1817. He 

 tried 76, between the 5th and 15th of June, 1817. on good soil, where the seed was 

 well ploughed in, with different grains, to ascertain how deep the root-stalk stood in 

 the earth, and what influence the different depths would have on the formation of the 

 Btalk. The results are exhibited in the following table : 



