192 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 



than those that are not so cultivated. The kinds 

 best suited to the needs of any locahty can only be 

 determined by positive test. 



When millet seed is sown broadcast by hand, 

 not fewer than sixteen quarts of seed are sown per 

 acre, nor more than thirty-two quarts. From twenty 

 to twenty-four quarts may be called average quan- 

 tities. Thick sowing results in a finer growth 

 in the plants, but it is only to be practiced when 

 enough moisture may be looked for to supply the 

 needs of the crop. When the seed is sown in rows 

 far enough apart to admit of cultivating the crop, a 

 few pounds of seed will suffice per acre. 



It is useless to sow millet before the ground and 

 weather are both warm. When the weather is ra\v 

 and cold for some time after sowing the millet, the 

 germination is pretty certain to be imperfect, and the 

 subsequent growth unsatisfactory. It is usually 

 better not to begin to sow millet until the corn plant- 

 ing has been finished. 



Cultivation. — Millet that is sown broadcast can- 

 not even be harrowed with a light harrow after the 

 seeds have sprouted, without destroying a consider- 

 able proportion of the plants. But when sown with 

 the drill, the plants will not be thus disturbed if the 

 harrow is drawn over the ground -with the teeth at a 

 considerable angle, before the plants have reached the 

 surface of the same. And the crop may even be 

 harrowed at a later period if the woi'k is done with 

 sufficient care. But on many soils some form of 

 weeder will do the work more satisfactorily when 

 the seed has been broadcasted. When millet seed 

 is not dear, if more seed were sown than would be 



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