244 AGRICULTURE 



regard to other considerations that should 

 be weighed before committing the seed to 

 the land. In some parts of the country one 

 finds that a particular variety of crop is 

 invariably sowed broadcast, while in another 

 district the common practice may be to sow 

 it in rows or, as it is commonly called, to 

 drill it. The advantages and disadvantages 

 of these two methods of seed distribution, 

 and the special circumstances to which each 

 is applicable, may be shortly discussed. 



When seed is distributed by a properly 

 constructed drill that is adjusted satisfactorily, 

 the grains are not only all covered with soil 

 but all are covered to a proper depth. In 

 broadcasting, on the other hand, a certain 

 amount of seed will fall between clods or 

 between the furrows and be buried too deep, 

 while a certain amount will probably remain 

 on the surface of the ground, and not be 

 buried at all. The latter, if it escapes the 

 attention of birds, may not germinate, or if it 

 does produce plants these may be destroyed 

 by drought before they have secured a proper 

 root-hold. With regard to the seed that is 

 buried too deep, it may be deprived of the 

 air that is an essential condition to germina- 

 tion, or it may be in such a cold stratum of 

 soil that germination is retarded ; and when 



