156 TILTH AND TILLAGE 



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SEEDING AND PLANTING 



Soil conditions determine largely the different methods and 

 types of machines used in seeding and planting; and the prepara- 

 tion of the seed bed is a most important factor in getting seeds 

 well planted. 



Good Seed Bed Favors Planting. — The advantages of a firm 

 seed bed thus far discussed have been in relation to the germinating 

 seed and the plant. Another advantage in having a firm seed bed 

 is, the depth of planting can be easily controlled. Too often, 

 grain, for example, is planted too deeply because little or no con- 



Fig. 98.— Press drill. 



sideration is given to the looseness of the soil. If a drill is set to 

 sow at a depth of one and one-half inches and the wheels sink down 

 three inches in the loose soil, then the seeds are dropped at a depth 

 of four and one-half inches. Grain seeds planted so deep may die 

 for want of sufficient air, the stems may meet with too much 

 resistance and never get through, or the food stored in the seed 

 may become exhausted before the shoots reach the surface. 



Planting Seeds in Close Contact With Soil. — The importance of 

 having good contact between the seed and the soil, or having 

 the soil pressed on the seed, is emphasized in the fact that corn 

 planters, beet seeders, cotton planters and other planting machines 

 are provided with press wheels. The use of water in transplanting 

 is not only to supply easily available water, but also to cause the 

 soils to come in close contact with the roots. Press grain drills 

 and press-wheel attachments for the ordinary grain drills are also 



