174 DRY LAND FARMING 



(1) It buries the seed to a uniform depth. (2) The 

 depth may be varied to suit the conditions. (3) The 

 ground may be compressed above the seed. (4) There 

 is a saving in the amount of seed. 



The burial of the seed to a uniform depth in dry 

 areas is greatly important. Under humid conditions seed 

 will germinate almost equally well at varying depths, 

 but in dry areas the seeds buried shallow, as some of them 

 are in broadcast sowing, will not germinate at all in the 

 absence of rain. Should the plants appear unevenly they 

 will grow unevenly. The early plants will rob the late 

 ones of moisture, which will result in dwarfing them, and 

 the ripening of the crop will be uneven. 



But more important than the planting of the seed 

 at an even depth, is the planting of the same at a depth 

 that will insure germination. For instance-, the best depth 

 at which to plant a certain kind of seed is, say, 2 inches. 

 But the moisture in the soil may be half an inch or an 

 inch lower down. With the grain drill, the seed may be 

 put down to where the moisture is, and so germination 

 is insured. In the absence of a drill such planting would 

 not be possible. Its use renders it entirely practicable 

 to plant autumn-sown seeds deeply to fit them for going 

 through the winter in better form, and to plant spring- 

 sown seeds moderately deep or less deeply to suit the 

 moisture conditions that may be present. 



The ability to compress the soil around seed more or 

 less, which some drills furnish, is in many instances a 

 great advantage. The class of drills known as press 

 drills will accomplish this (see p. 177). The advantage 

 from such compression is, that the circulation of air 

 around the seed is so far reduced that the moisture 

 needed to germinate the grain is better retained. Such 

 compression, however, is not adapted to all soils. In 

 some soils it would shut out the air too completely, as 

 when they are of a heavy character and may contain an 



