CULTURE OF GRASSES 3 1 



age and tilth is improved by deep plowing but soil which 

 has been shallow- plowed for several years may be injured 

 by suddenly deepening the plowing and bringing the 

 sterile subsoil to the surface. In such cases it may be 

 best gradually to deepen the plowing, bringing to the 

 surface only a small quantity each year. In the Great 

 Plains region where strong dry winds prevail in the 

 spring, deep plowing may be a distinct injury as the soil 

 is sometimes blown away to the depth of the plowing. 

 Here it may be necessary to disk or to drill in stubble 

 without plowing. 



SOWING THE SEED 



Grass seed is sown broadcast or with a drill upon 

 properly prepared soil. In general it takes less seed per 

 acre when a drill is used. Not all kinds of grass seed 

 can be sown with a drill. Sorts with fluffy or chaffy 

 seeds do not feed regularly through the machine, though 

 they can often be made to do so when mixed with sand. 

 Broadcasting by hand is the primitive way to sow grass, 

 grain, and small seeds generally, and an expert can 

 scatter them with surprising evenness. There are many 

 devices, such as the wheelbarrow seeder, now sold, by 

 which the seed can be broadcasted mechanically. These 

 machines scatter the seed more evenly than can usually 

 be done by hand, especially by the modern farmer who 

 has less practice in this kind of sowing than had his 

 grandfather. 



Seeds that are large enough to allow of being planted an 

 inch below the surface are now usually sown with a grain 

 drill. This machine places the seed at a uniform depth 



