WHEAT 133 



seeded too early, too much growth is made before cold 

 weather, and many of the plants are likely to be winter- 

 killed ; but if delayed too long, sufficient growth cannot be 

 made to enable the plants to withstand the winter. The 

 practice of the best farmers of any section may usually be 

 used as a guide for the proper time of seeding. Spring 

 wheat usually does better if the seeding is done early, 

 since the plants make their best growth during the cool 

 weather of spring. Early seeding also avoids to a con- 

 siderable extent the attacks of insects and permits the 

 crop to ripen and be harvested before the more severe 

 storms of late summer. 



121. Method and depth of seeding. Almost all of the 

 wheat in the United States is now seeded with a grain 

 drill, in some few places, however, broadcasting being 

 still practiced. Seeding with the grain drill is to be rec- 

 ommended in almost all cases. The depth of seeding 

 depends to some extent upon the condition of the seed 

 bed. In a well-prepared bed the seed should not be put 

 down deeply into the ground, usually one to two inches 

 being a sufficient depth. Some farmers plant the seed 

 deeply, in order, as they believe, to insure a deep root 

 system and prevent winter killing. Deep seeding, of 

 course, does not insure a deep root system, as has pre- 

 viously been explained. It is necessary in a poorly pre- 

 pared seed bed to put the seed down somewhat deeper in 

 order to place it where it can get sufficient moisture to 

 germinate and also in order that there may be enough 

 loose soil to cover it. 



122. Cultivation of wheat. Wheat is not usually 

 cultivated after seeding, but some growers follow the 

 practice of harrowing fall-sown wheat in the spring. This 

 breaks up the surface crust and prevents the evaporation of 



