WHEAT 261 



rapidly lost by evaporation. The same condition 

 favors the growth of the young shoots upward into 

 the air and sunshine. 



The too loose, deep seed bed is almost wholly 

 dependent upon sufficient rains to germinate the 

 seed and start the young plants. In such a seed 

 bed drouth is very apt to injure the plants, because 

 of the rapid drying out of the soil to the depth of 

 the plowing. In the loose seed bed \he wheat is 

 not only apt to burn out in summer, but it is also 

 more apt to freeze out in winter, than wheat grown 

 in the ideal seed bed as here described. 



How Much Seed to Sow. — The amount of seed to 

 the acre varies a little with the soil and the climate. 

 As a rule, five pecks of well-cleaned seed will give 

 a good stand and produce the maximum yield. If 

 the seed is very expensive, one bushel will fre- 

 quently answer. It is better, however, to be on the 

 safe side and sow a little more than recommended 

 rather than less. There are so many varieties that no 

 one variety can be recommended for all sections of 

 the wheat belt. The best guide is to get from the 

 experiment station the kinds that have done best in 

 the station tests. Then after consulting with the 

 best wheat growers in your neighborhood, decide 

 upon the kind. A good variety is always desirable, 

 but do not forget that even the best seed will not 

 do well on a poor seed bed. 



Putting in the Seed. — Drilling is, of course, the 

 only method to be recommended. The kind of a 

 drill is another question. The modern disk drills 

 have been so satisfactory that they can be recom- 

 mended without hesitancy. The old-fashioned hoe 

 drill is still used very widely and is a good imple- 

 ment. The press drill during a dry season is ex- 



