1860.] 



497 



that we should encourage the production of 

 native wine. Certainly, a land so blessed as 

 ours iSj with every variety of soil and cli- 

 mate, and of so magnificent extent, need not 

 long depend upon foreign countries for our 

 supply of wines — 'and it would not surprise 

 us if, before the end of the present century, 

 we not only made all that is necessary for 

 our own consumption, but — reversing the 

 current of trade — became exporters of the 

 article instead of importers." 



For the Southern Planter. 



Drilled and Broadcast Seeding Compared. 



The advantages of drilled over broadcast 

 sown wheat have been so often discussed, 

 and enjoined upon us small farmers, that it 

 seems scarcely possible to present anything 

 new in relation to the subject. Even man- 

 ufacturers, in their advertisements, urge 

 upon us the great importance of using a 

 machine instead of adhering with obstinate 

 pertinacity to the primitive custom of scat- 

 tering indiscriminately with the hand. From 

 whatever source such admonitions may pro- 

 ceed, whether those who offer them are ac- 

 tuated by the noble incentive of doing good, 

 or prompted by the desire of making money, 

 we should receive them thankfully if cal- 

 culated to render us any service. The de- 

 positing of grain in drills I consider to be a 

 step towards agricultural improvement as 

 far in advance as any which has been taken 

 in modern times by innovation upon anti- 

 quated practices. Perhaps I ascribe too 

 much importance to the mere mechanical 

 deposition of the seed ; but trifling as such 

 an operation may appear, I conceive it to 

 be, and will endeavor to show, that it is, a 

 matter of no little iroment. I know that 

 some persons are wont to regard with indiffer- 

 ence the particular mode of operation which 

 may be pursued. " So the seed are put in 

 the ground," say they, " no matter how — 

 why, what dilFerence does it make ?" But, 

 lightly as they may esteem the difference, it 

 is, nevertheless, material. Both the regu- 

 larity with which the seed are distributed, 

 and the important saving which is effected 

 in their use, are, obviously, considerations 

 of themselves, irrespective of all others, suf- ' 

 ficient to induce the adoption of the drill. ' 

 But, besides these, there are other reasons 

 in its favor which I consider deserving of 

 consideration. 



The first indication by which the farmer 

 32 ^ 



forms an opionion of his future crop, after 

 the seed are planted or sown, is to be able 

 to determine whether or not he has a ''good 

 stand." He is anxious to know what pro- 

 portion of the seed sown has taken root 

 and " come up." In planted crops he can 

 satisfy himself without much difficulty, but 

 in sown crops he can only form a vague con- 

 jecture. A certainty in regard to the lat* 

 ter is the great desideratum. That method 

 then which is most favorable to the uniform 

 and coteraporaneous germination of all the 

 seed sown, is the one that should be adopted 

 by every farmer who has his own interest at 

 heart. When we sow five pecks of seed 

 upon an acre of ground, we want every grain 

 to take root and spring up. 



When seed are arranged in drills they 

 are all covered at a uniform depth beneath 

 the surface j when scattered, and afterwards 

 harrowed or plowed in, some are buried too 

 deep, a portion not deep enough, and others 

 not at all. The former method not only in- 

 sures the simultaneous germination of the 

 seed, but a certainty that a good stand 

 can be thereby eftected. Just the reverse 

 is true with respect to the latter ; the seed 

 being buried at different depths, spring up 

 irregularly and at different times, while 

 those that are not sufficiently covered with 

 earth will either not spring up, or, if they 

 do, will produce sickly and imperfect plants. 

 We have only to consider the atmospheric 

 changes constantly taking place at the sur- 

 face of the earth, and within a given depth 

 of soil, in order to be convinced of the pre- 

 eminence of drilled over sown seed. The 

 effects of these changes upon the germina- 

 tion of seed vary with their depth beneath 

 the surface. There is a certain depth to 

 deposit the seed that possesses every require- 

 ment to perfect a speedy and healthy ger- 

 mination. The evaporation which is con- 

 stantly going on at the surface of the earth, 

 through solar influences, combined with the 

 effects of the winds, causes a thin stratum 

 of soil immediately at the surface to- be al- 

 most totally destitute of moisture, while the 

 humidity of the substratum is constantly 

 ascending, in obedience to the law of capil- 

 lary attraction to restore that which is re- 

 moved from above, thus maintaining in 

 rjeiiial condition — the requisite degrees of 

 temperature and dampness — at the proper 

 depth, while it replaces the watery vapour 

 exhaled, and is in its turn evaporated from 

 the surface. If we descend a little further 



