CROPS AND SOIL IMPROVEMENT 



customed to broadcasting clover seed on top of 

 the wheat fields and obtaining a stand of plants. 

 A majority of the seeds do not become buried in 

 the soil, or only very slightly, and yet germinate. 

 Moisture is necessary, but in the spring, when 

 this method is used, there is moisture at the sur- 

 face of the ground under the wheat plants much 

 of the time. The conditions respecting mois- 

 ture are not unfavorable in most springs, and we 

 come to think that a small seed should not be 

 buried much if any. In the autumn, again, we 

 sow timothy with the wheat, and while more 

 prompt germination is secured by covering the 

 timothy seed with the hoes of the drill, we often 

 have seen a successful seeding made without any 

 covering being given. The work is done at a 

 time when fall rains may continue for days and, 

 when the sun's heat does not continue long, the 

 covering given by settling the seed into the loose 

 earth is sufficient. Moisture does not leave rap- 

 idly because the air is not hot. 



Deep Covering. In August the air is hot, 

 and the surface of the ground is dry nearly all the 

 time. A shower may be followed by hot sun- 

 shine, and the water at the surface evaporates 

 quickly, leaving the ground covered with a dry 



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