48 CULTURE OF FARM CROPS. 



and light land, I have, during the last five years, sown 

 several half-acre plots in the same field, varying in width 

 from 8 to 12 inches between the rows, and with from four 

 to eight pecks of seed per acre. Any one who has tried 

 such experiments will have found, on comparing those of 

 one year with those of another in different fields, very per- 

 plexing discrepancies arising from the variety of land some- 

 times occurring in the same field, and other disturbing causes. 

 It is therefore only by repeated experiment year by year in 

 different fields that a reliable impression can be arrived at. 

 The result of the experiments on my farm has been in 

 favour of 12-inch intervals and six pecks of seed. The 

 largest produce I had in any year was from four pecks of 

 seed with 1 2-inch intervals. I may add, these experiments 

 have been made indifferently on light stonebrash and tena- 

 cious soils on stiff clay. During seasons in which mildew 

 has been prevalent, I have observed that it has to a some- 

 what greater extent attacked the straw of the 12 -inch than 

 that with 8 or 9 inch intervals a result I should not have 

 anticipated a priori" 



36. On this point of narrow and wide drills, the following 

 tabular statement of the results of experiments carried out 

 by Mr. Birch Wolf will be suggestive. The land was 

 marked out in the centre of a 50-acre field of wheat, two 

 plots being arranged of 5^ roods each, one plot being sown 

 at the rate of 6 pecks per acre, with the drills 9 inches 

 apart, and the other plot with 7 pecks per acre, the drills 

 7 inches apart : 



9-iNCH DRILLS. 



Seed per Number of Produce of Total assumed Produce 



acre. sheaves. 20 sheaves. per acre. 



4 & 4 -$ 



3 O> Tn s-> & to ;_ 2 o> 



PQPnC? O> pq PH O'pqpL, 



996 112 811 536 



7-iNCH DRILLS. 



936 124 940 635 



