32 BULLETIN 961, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



finer and more evenly distributed that later tillage was not difficult, 

 and in some cases the soil seemed lighter and more mellow than 

 before. 



Sudan grass may be surface planted in rows with either a grain 

 drill or corn planter. It may be planted in furrows directly with a 

 lister, or, more safely but less economically, with the corn planter 

 following blank listing. Surface planting is more likely to give a 

 good stand and rapid early growth, because the soil is warmer and 

 the plants are not exposed to being washed out, covered up, or 

 drowned, as in listed furrows. Listing has the advantage in dry 

 regions of putting the seed down into moist soil, often resulting in 

 good stands where the surface soil is too dry for seed to sprout. 

 Listed fields may be cultivated easily and rapidly with the special 



Fig. 18.— The difficulty of putting a field in condition for cropping the year following a crop of Sudan grass 

 seeded in 40-inch rows is shown in this illustration. 



2-row machine commonly used for listed corn and sorghums in the 

 Great Plains area. It is much easier to cover up weeds in cultivating 

 listed fields, but, on the other hand, surface-planted Sudan grass 

 properly handled grows so rapidly that weeds give very little trouble 

 and are soon overcome by the shade. 



Rows may be spaced any distance desired with a grain drill by 

 stopping up the holes not needed. In drills with the vertical disk 

 feed, rags tightly inserted serve this purpose, but in drills with the 

 horizontal corrugated-cylinder feed it is usually necessary to tack a 

 material like tin or wood over the holes. The grain drill used in this 

 way is especially useful for rows less than 3 feet apart. For example, 

 a drill with 10 holes 7 inches apart sows four 21-inch rows at once by 

 seeding through the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth holes; or the 



