Proceedings of the Farmers' Club. 573 



Quantity of Seed required for an Acre. 

 This depends somewhat on the variety, and tlie time and man- 

 ner of sowing. The tendency among wheat raisers has of late years 

 been to the nse of less seed than formerly. This is perhaps in part 

 due to the general use of the drill. Thirty years ago few farmers 

 here sowed less than two bushels to tlie acre, bnt it w^as sowed by 

 hand broad-cast, and then harrowed ; some of the seed would get so 

 deep that it did not come up, some lay on the surface, and was food 

 for the birds. The introduction of the drill enabled us to put all our 

 seed at the desired depth, and thus secure the growth of every grain, 

 and now few farmers here use more than a bushel and a half to the 

 acre. Mr. John Johnston, Mdio is an acknowledged authority among 

 us, told me last summer that one bushel and an eighth of Deilil 

 wheat was as much as should be sown on an acre. Too heavy seed- 

 ing is not only a loss of the grain, but it causes the crop to fall, and 

 thus lead to a more serious loss, and to extra expense in harvesting. 

 "Wheat that has a large berry, will have less in number in a given 

 quantity by measure, than the smaller varieties, and of course 

 more by measure will be required. The general tendency is, how- 

 ever, not only here but in England to lighter seeding, and many 

 experiments made in both countiies go to show that half a bushel or 

 even less of seed would be sufficient to furnish all the plants nece^ssary 

 for an a(?i'e, could we rely on preserving every plant alive through the 

 "winter and spring. For Mediterranean wheat a bushel and a half is 

 generally sown ; for Treadwell and Weeks being smaller in the berry, 

 a little less is admissible, when sown early, and on ground in first rate 

 condition. 



Time of Sowing. 



Like many other matters in managing a farm, this is a point in 

 regard to which no positive directions can be given ; only general 

 suggestions and advice are admissible. 



The leading object is, to have the young wheat strong in the root, 

 without too much top, before snow comes or the ground freezes up in 

 the beginning of winter. Most experienced wheat growers would 

 probably sa}' that tliey had lost more by gownng too early than by 

 sowing too late. In this latitude (forty-three degrees) my own 

 opinion favors the ten days from tlie loth to the 2oth of September 

 in ordinary seasons. Wheat sown from the 1st to the 10th of Septem 

 ber has generally grown too much top to winter well with me ; and 



