THE WHEAT CROP. 27 



It should be ploughed as deep as possible, carefully cleaned, 

 and the mass, not merely the surface, reduced to the finest 

 tilth, so that the rootlets of the young plants may have 

 no obstacles in penetrating the soil,* and may have their 

 feeding surfaces increased. 



The process of broadcasting is a simple one. The seed 

 to be sown is carried by the sower in a bag (sowing sheet) 

 or basket (seed-lip), of a convenient form, suspended from 

 the neck, in such a position that the sower can have ac- 

 cess to it either with one or with both hands, according 

 to the manner in which he intends to distribute the seed, 

 whether with one, as is usually done, or with both hands. 

 At starting, he marks off with a " feering-pole," on the 

 headland, a distance equal to the breadth he can cover in 

 his cast, -so that on his return down the land again he 

 may keep a perfectly straight line, and thus avoid leaving 

 any portion unsown, as is frequently the case with care- 

 less sowers. The breadth covered by each cast is from 6 

 to 8 feet, and from 10 to 12 acres is quite sufficient for a 

 day's work. 1 



The operation is purely that of a skilful and careful 

 manipulation, and a few acres more per day sown are not 

 to be considered for an instant in comparison with the 

 regular and careful distribution of the seed on the sur- 



' It is very easy to estimate the amount of all descriptions of work (surface) 

 that ought to be done in a day, when the rate of motion is determined upon. 

 By calculating the number of square inches in an acre (6,272,640) they would 

 be found, if placed in a straight line, equal to 99 miles (63,360 inches in a 

 mile) ; consequently, an implement 1 inch in width, would have to travel 

 99 miles to cover an acre. If the implement or machine were 1 foot wide, it 

 would require to travel one-twelfth of 99 miles, or = 12^ miles, in order to 

 cover the same area. " Therefore, if you multiply the breadth of each turn of 

 the machine by the rate of motion (miles travelled per day), and divide the 

 product by 99, if the breadth be given in inches, or by 12*25, if it be given in 

 feet, you have at once the amount of work that ought to be done in the day." 



In this case we have a man covering a width of say 6 feet at each cast, 

 and moving at the average rate of say 2^ miles per hour, for 8 hours, or, in 

 all, 20 miles per day. Therefore, we have 20 x 6 = 120-rl2'25- 9707 acres 

 sown per day. 



