MODES OF SOWING THE SEED. 47 



developed. We dismiss our notes of its advantages at 

 present by simply pointing out that, not only by it do we 

 enable the plant to tiller well out in the early stages, and to 

 give plenty of room for the later stages of its growth, and 

 for the light and air to play around it, but that we obtain 

 a stronger plant, finer straw, and richer ears. There is 

 one fault, however, which we have found in our own practice 

 to be dependent sometimes upon the dibbling, namely, the 

 rust which the plants are liable to. We say sometimes, 

 for not always is this rust an accompaniment of dibbled 

 grain. In some instances we have also noticed that while 

 the deteriorating influences of rust upon broadcast and 

 drilled grain upon its quality were very marked, this was 

 not the case in the case of rusted dibbled grain. Indeed, 

 there has been always something very different on a close 

 inspection between the kind of rust which infects dibbled 

 grain and that which we have noticed in grain sown in 

 the usual methods. What that difference is we are not at 

 present prepared to say, but it appears to us as likely that 

 the freer access of light and air to dibbled grain, as com- 

 pared with broadcasted or drilled grain, does bring about 

 a less virulent kind of rust. Certainly, so far as we have 

 noticed and we have examined no small number of spe- 

 cimens the influence of rust upon the grain of the dibbled 

 wheat has in no instance been so marked as in the case of 

 grain broadcasted or drilled. 



35. The depth at which the seed is sown, and the width 

 between the drills, exercises a most important influence 

 upon the prospects of the crop. The experiments of Mr. 

 Hallett the reader will find explained in Chapter Sixth. We 

 meanwhile place before him a few opinions of authorities as 

 to the width or distance between the drills the first of these 

 being from the pen of Mr. Lawrence of Cirencester : 



" I had observed some years ago, that practically the 

 question of width lay between 7 and 9 inches, and the 

 quantity of seed varied between 2 and 3 bushels per acre. 

 Desirous of arriving at some conclusion on these points for 

 my governance on my own farm, which comprises heavy 



