AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 383 



Another condition is, that they should not be sown too early in the 

 spring, as no seed has ever been known to germinate below the freezing 

 point. 



" It is of the first importance in raising any kinds of crops, that the seed 

 sown should be perfectly good, fresh, and thoroughly ripened. It is gene- 

 rally kept in shops for so great a length of time that it is often in a state 

 unfit for vegetating when purchased by the farmer. I never sow any 

 variety of seed until I test its quality in a hot bed, notwithstanding it may 

 present a bright appearance, slide easily in the hand, smell sweet, &c. 

 The proportion of seed that is necessary must of course vary according to 

 the quality of the soil, preparation to which it has been reduced by the 

 farmer, and its state of fertility. 



" In rich, well disintegrated soils, every good seed grows, while in poor, 

 badly tilled soils, be the seed ever so good, half of them will fail, particu- 

 larly in dry seasons, and a third of those that come up will die afterward. 



"Rich soils are supposed to require a smaller number of seeds than poor 

 soils, as in the rich earth they have a much better chance of growing and 

 becoming luxuriant, thus individually occupying greater space. 



" In deciding upon the proper quantity of seed to be sown, the farmer 

 must have regard as to whether the season is favorable or not, or he may 

 meet with serious loss. I would, however, recommend on all occasions, a 

 liberal allowance, though I have often found too great a luxuriance preju- 

 dicial from the fact that it retards the ripening process, and thus hazards 

 the crop. I usually sow to the acre : 



Wheat, 2A bushels. Red clover, 1 bushel. 



Rye, 2^ do White clover, 0^ do 



Oats, 3 do Timothy, ^ do 



Barley, 2| do Red top, 0^- do , 



Bu kwheat, 0^ do 



" In my neighborhood, wheat is sown in October, and harvested 122 

 days after. Its vegetation is entirely suspended during the winter months. 

 In Cincinnati, it is sown the last of February, and harvested in 137 days, 

 under a mean temperature of 61 degrees Fah. I sow barley on the 1st of 

 May, and cut in 93 days, under a mean temperature of 67 degrees. 



" In high latitudes, vigorous vegetation in plants disappears, owing, 

 probably, to the intensely cold winters, and want of heat in summer. The 

 vine is most productive between the temperatures of 70 deg. and 80 deg. 

 Fah. ; wheat, 73 deg. and 75 deg. ; barley, 69 deg. and 74 deg. ; potatoes, 

 54 deg. and 75 deg. ; melons, 66 deg. and 67 deg. ; apples, 59 deg. and 72 

 deg. ; tobacco, 66 deg. and 82 deg. ; corn 59 deg. and 80 deg. ; sugar cane, 

 71 deg. and 82 deg. 



" The rapidity and growth of a plant after we have sown the seed, and 

 the duration of its life, arc, of course, affected by circumstances, on the 

 knowledge of which, and the proper way to produce them, enlightened 

 agriculture is dependent mainly. Over the natural conditions of the 



