SOWING OF THE SEED. 239 



is worthy of note that the growing opinion is that in all 

 cereals, oats, as well as barley or wheat, thin sowing is 

 better than thick sowing j what the minimum and what 

 the maximum will have to be decided according to circum- 

 stances. The time for putting the seed in is a point of 

 practice as much disputed nearly as to the quantity of seed 

 to be put in. Like the latter the former point must be 

 greatly dependent upon the locality and circumstances of 

 soil. Just as the growing opinion is in favour of thin sow- 

 ing, so is it in favour of early sowing. At the same time 

 it is to be observed that the land must be in good condi- 

 tion, that is, it must be sufficiently dry to work to a nice 

 tilth. This circumstance will generally decide the ques- 

 tion as to the period of sowing ; for whenever the land is 

 in " good heart," as the expressive phrase goes, that is the 

 time to sow, indeed it appears that it cannot be too early 

 in the year. As an eminently practical authority remarks 

 on this very point, ."The time for sowing is to be fixed 

 whenever the land will work, whether it be in January, 

 February, or the early part of March." The same authority 

 says, " never lose an opportunity of sowing when the land 

 is sufficiently dry to work after the commencement of the 

 new year." Another authority says, " the oat seed time in 

 Scotland extends from the 10th of March to the 10th of 

 April, according to circumstances. In South England, 

 oats should be sown early in February, and even sooner, if 

 the variety to be cultivated belong to the later sorts. By 

 early sowing, the young plants are up and covering the 

 ground before the hot season arrives, and the natural 

 moisture is thus economized and preserved from eva- 

 poration." 



37. The sowing of the oat crop next demands our atten- 

 tion. Generally the broadcast system is adopted, although 

 the use of the drill is gradually extending from the south 

 to the north. In Scotland, the oats are sown broadcast on 

 the winter furrow, the seed being covered in by two, three, 

 and sometimes four harrows coupled together; the number 

 of harrows used, however, depends upon the quality of the 



