GROWING GRAIN CROPS IN DRY AREAS 229 



When the moisture is sufficient at the time of sowing 

 the seed, there would seem to be no advantage from 

 sowing it more deeply than 2 to 3 inches. But when mois- 

 ture is lower down, winter wheat especially may be put 

 down 3 to 4 inches in order to reach it. Fairly deep 

 sowing tends to aid the plants in severe winter weather 

 and also in time of drought. 



The quantity of seed to sow varies with the soil, the 

 time of seeding, the variety and the climatic conditions. A 

 good soil, under dry conditions, can take more seed than 

 would be suitable for a poor soil. Late sowing calls 

 for more seed than early sowing, as the plants stool less. 

 The large wheats call for more than the small ones. The 

 more moisture that the soil contains, the thicker may 

 be the seeding. It would seem correct to say that about 

 half the amounts of seed called for in humid areas will 

 suffice for dry areas. When the plants are present in too 

 large numbers, there is not enough moisture in the soil 

 to meet their needs. They will be dwarfed in their 

 growth. The heads will be unduly small, nor will the 

 grains in them be of normal size. Early in the season 

 the thicker stand will be the more promising, but this 

 condition will probably be reversed at harvest time. 

 The plants of a thin stand will stool more than those of 

 a thick stand. Ordinarily with a rainfall averaging 15 

 inches, 3 pecks of the small grained wheats will suffice 

 per acre when sown on good land. Of the larger grained 

 wheats, as the Macaroni, 4 pecks may be needed. Where 

 the rainfall is much less than 15 inches, the seed may be 

 reduced by, say, one-half peck. Where the rainfall is 

 not more than 10 inches, one-half bushel may suffice. 

 Some authorities recommend sowing very small quanti- 

 ties of seed, as low as 20 to 30 pounds per acre. Such 

 small amounts would seem to be too low for average 

 conditions. Jt is safer to err in sowing too much seed 

 than in sowing too little, as when the plants are in ex- 



