SOWING AND PLANTING IN DRY AREAS 179 



amount that would be enough under normal conditions 

 would be too much under a deficiency in the precipita- 

 tion. The condition of the preparation of the land also 

 exerts an influence. The more perfect the preparation, 

 the less is the amount of seed that is called for, as the 

 greater relatively will be the number of the plants that 

 will germinate under those conditions, and the more 

 abundant will be the stooling. It is only possible, there- 

 fore, to state approximately the amount of the seed that 

 should be used. Some species of cereals stool more than 

 others, and the same is true of varieties within the spe- 

 cies. These peculiarities should not be ignored. Speak- 

 ing in a general way, it would seem safe to say that the 

 usual amounts of seed sown in dry areas should be about 

 half the amounts of the same sown in humid areas. 



Much care should be exercised in determining the 

 amounts of seed to sow. Because very large yields have 

 been obtained from sowing very small quantities of seed 

 under exceptional conditions, the mistake should not be 

 made of reducing unduly the amount of the seed sown. 

 The practise should be followed of sowing amounts a 

 little in excess of what will best meet the needs of the 

 conditions present, as all of the plants may not ger- 

 minate, and very adverse weather conditions may destroy 

 some of them. Should there be an excess of plants, it is 

 best removed by the aid of the harrow, a result which 

 is to be sought whenever such excess is present. 



The time to sow autumn grain. The aim should be 

 to sow autumn grain early and for the following reasons: 

 (1) That root development may have time to become 

 strong so as to enable it the better to withstand the 

 vicissitudes of winter, and (2) that the development of 

 the top may become such as to aid in furnishing protec- 

 tion for the plants when passing through those periods 

 of winter when a covering of snow may not be present. 

 This will apply to all kinds of winter grain, as rye, wheat, 



