304 



THE WHEAT CULTTJEIST. 



forefinger. The dibble is put through a hole in a block 

 of wood about three inches square, which furnishes a 

 shoulder to prevent making a hole more than two, or two 

 and a half inches deep. If no shoulder is attached to 

 the dibble, where the soil is mellow, there is danger that 

 the dibble will be thrust into the ground too far. The 

 operator carries his seed in a sack or planting-bag 

 secured to his body, as when planting Indian corn. 

 The soil is first put in excellent tilth, as the dibbling 

 process cannot be conducted satisfactorily, where there are 

 lumps of earth and stones. The surface of the ground 

 is made smooth and even, by raking and rolling. Then 

 a line is stretched across the piece to be dibbled ; and as 

 fast as one hand makes a hole with the dibble, the other 

 drops one kernel into the bottom of the recess ; and each 

 hole is filled with mellow soil. This constitutes the en- 

 tire process of dibbling-in grain. 



It has been stated in certain agricultural papers, that 

 if seed wheat were dibbled in, the yield would be double 

 the amount of grain that could be raised on the same 

 ground by any other mode of seeding. But there is no 

 reason to believe that one bushel of grain more could be 

 produced by dibbling-in the seed than by putting in 

 with a good drill. The fact that statements have been 

 made by farmers, to show the superiority of dibbling 

 over drilling or broadcast seeding, does not make it so. 

 We want the evidence of numerous well-conducted ex- 

 periments to prove it. If the soil is in an excellent 

 state of fertility, the yield of grain will be as large 

 when put in with Beckwith's drill (page 306), as if driUed 

 in by hand. Indeed, seed is, to all intents and purposes, 

 drilled in, by such a drill, as I have just alluded to. 



Dibbling can be practised advantageously and eco- 



