GENERAL PRINCIPLES. 27 



ed in many instances when these are sown in the au- 

 tumn, with or without a nurse crop, in a. climate that 

 is humid, and especially when rains are frequent, 

 providing the seed is sown as soon as the ground 

 has been made ready to receive it and before rain has 

 fallen on the same. The first rain that falls would 

 seem to provide a sufiicient covering for the seed. But 

 there are instances when a light harrow should be run 

 over the ground. In the renovation of pastures, seeds 

 which fall to the ground subsequent to maturity are 

 able to grow without any covering. 



When the seed is sown in the spring on a winter crop 

 after the ground has become settled a heavy harrow 

 will usually cover the seed better than a light one, and 

 sometimes it may be even necessary to weight the har- 

 row. When it is sown in the spring with or without 

 a nurse crop, when the seed falls on the surface, in near- 

 ly all instances it is advantageous to cover with the 

 roller or the harrow. On heavy soils • well supplied 

 with rain in the spring, covering by rolling will usually 

 suffice. But in loam soils when the rain is not abun- 

 dant, and more especially when the summers are hot 

 and dry, the seed should be covered with the harrow. 

 On firm soils the smoothing harrow will probably do the 

 work better than a heavy harrow, as it will bury the 

 seeds less deeply. But on soils the opposite a heavy 

 harrow is to be preferred because of the greater depth 

 to which it buries the seeds. 



When the seed is deposited along with grain sown 

 with the drill, or with the broadcast seeder, it may not 

 be necessary to harrow the ground further, but if sub- 



