100 FARM CROPS 



fully sown by hand, but in recent years the little 

 wheelbarrow seeder, several makes of which are on 

 the market, has come into use for broadcasting 

 grass, clover, alfalfa and other small seeds. 

 The seed should not be covered deeply; usually 

 less than i inch is better than more than i inch of 

 soil covering, while on heavy, compact soil or in 

 wet seasons the seed should be covered very lightly. 

 The seed bed should be fully prepared before seed- 

 ing, and one brush with the harrow is usually suf- 

 ficient to cover the seed in a seed bed having a 

 mellow, even surface. If the seed is planted too 

 deep, the young shoots will often be unable to 

 reach the surface. The vitality of the small seed 

 being quickly exhausted the plant and the seed are 

 lost. There is always danger in using the drill for 

 seeding that the seed may be planted too deep. 

 Even if the seed is covered very lightly it must lie 

 in a furrow, which may fill with the first beating 

 rain, thus covering the seed or young plants and 

 often destroying them. As a rule, it is not best to 

 roll after seeding. In light soils or dry seasons, 

 however, it may become desirable to roll to cover 

 the seed and press the soil about the seed. It will 

 always be well to follow the roller with a light 

 harrow, leaving the ground furrowed and with a 

 surface of mulch, and not smooth and hard as left 

 by the roller. 



Nurse Crop. — It is safest, as a rule, to sow 

 alfalfa without a nurse crop, and this is the method 

 usually practiced, although it is possible to get 

 good stands in the most favorable climate, soil and 

 season by seeding with spring grain crops. Again, 

 in light soil, which is apt to blow, it may be advis- 

 able to sow some crop with the alfalfa in order to 



