THE WHEAT CKOP. 25 



practice of simply steeping seed, for the purpose of insur- 

 ing a more regular and early germination, is very gene- 

 rally and successfully followed with many seeds turnips, 

 mangold, carrots especially and in all cases common water 

 will be found to be more efficient than any nostrum that 

 may be recommended. 



The quantity of seed per acre is the next point which 

 claims the farmer's attention. This is one of the ques- 

 tions "thick or thin seeding" that has been of late 

 years the most discussed in agricultural circles, and one 

 about which the greatest difference of opinion still exists. 

 There are some plain principles connected with this 

 point, which, if admitted, ought to render the solution of 

 it less difficult than it appears to be, by limiting the 

 range of difference to certain conditions. We can readily 

 conceive, and long experience has confirmed it, that under 

 equal circumstances, a plant like wheat will increase 

 more in nine or ten months (if sown in October), than in 

 five or six months (if sown in February or March), and 

 that the produce will be greater in a rich deep-tilled soil 

 than in a poor shallow one. The deductions we should 

 make from these facts are very obvious : 1. That the 

 earlier we get our seed into the ground, the more oppor- 

 tunity it has to increase, and the less the quantity re- 

 quired to produce a crop. 2. That the better the soil and 

 the deeper it is tilled, the greater the proportion of food, 

 and the greater the range the roots have to procure it in, 

 and consequently the more vigorous and productive each 

 plant win be, and the less necessity is there for multiply- 

 ing them by thick seeding, in order to secure a sufficient 

 crop. Therefore, as a general rule, we may consider that, 

 to obtain a given return, it is desirable to increase the 

 quantity of seed sown according to the lateness of the 

 time of sowing, and also according to the character and 

 general condition of the soil. For instance, on land where 



