54 



SOUTHERN FIELD CROPS 



of November may be regarded as a generallj^ satisfactory 

 date for so^^'ing wheat. 



55. Drilling versus broadcast sowing. — Exioeriments in 

 the principal wheat-growing states show a larger yield from 



Fig. 20. — Double-disk Gr.vi.n' Drill. 



drilling wheat by the use of a grain drill (Fig. 20), so-wing 

 the seed in rows, 6, 7, or 8 inches apart, than from sowing 

 broadcast. The advantages of drilling are the following : — ■ 



(1) Usually a somewhat larger yield. 



(2) Planting at a more uniform depth and hence greater 

 uniformity in the ripening of the plants. 



(3) Shghtly increased protection from winter-killing 

 through heaving, that is, the lifting of the young plants 

 above the surface bj- the expansion of the moistin-e in the 

 soil when it freezes ; the plants growing in the slight de- 

 pression left by the drill are in the position where there is 



