071 the Use of the Water-Drill. 
369 
five-eighths of an inch in diameter; and with these a cistern full 
of water, which is about 60 gallons, will sow 40 chains, which 
will give a total of about 220 gallons per acre. With larger- 
sized holes an increased quantity of liquid could easily be sown, 
but experience does not prove that this would generally be of 
practical advantage. In sowing oats and other cereals, where it 
is found necessary to use the whole six coulters, a different plate 
should be used. Tliis is of the utmost importance, although 
frequently neglected. The large holes in the plates just de- 
scribed allow of too rapid a flow of liquid where six coulters 
have to be supplied, and it frequently occurs that the drill be- 
comes nearly emptied much before it ought to be, and, conse- 
quently, that those parts of the rows sown first, after the drill 
liad been refilled, get a much larger share of manure than they 
ought to have ; whilst the other ends of the rows, sown as the 
supply was becoming exliausted, get far too small a quantity, 
and hence you have a very uneven and irregular growth. It 
may, however, be easily obviated by using a different plate. 
The results of several trials made during the last few years 
on a somewhat extended scale, show that the plate best adapted 
for the successful working of six coulters is one with holes 
from three-eighths to five-sixteenths of an inch in diameter. 
With these we sow 60 gallons of water in about 30 chains, 
which will give a total quantity of nearly 300 gallons per acre. 
In sowing with six coulters it is very needful when the drill 
is full that the holes should not be quite opened, as the flow 
from the weight of liquid in the cistern is necessarily more rapid 
than when the quantity becomes lessened ; this can be easily 
managed by the slide, but requires constant attention if the dis- 
charge throughout the whole length of the field is to be equal. 
It can be done, as was proved by my own crop of oats sown 
last spring. I put in 112 acres with the water-drill, the whole 
of which came up and grew as uniformly even and regular as 
could be desired. But, besides the equal distribution of the 
manure from the drill, there is also needed the equal and regular 
supply of it to the drill. This is managed by ascertaining in 
each field into which the drill enters how many rounds the 
drill must perform to sow an acre. Having calculated this, 
and knowing the number of half-pecks each bag of manure 
contains, it becomes an easy matter of calculation to learn how 
many half-pecks are required for each drillful of v/ater. These 
are then propeily measured and applied, and the object sought 
is attained. 
For the first few years after my adoption of the water-drill 
principle, I sowed in every field of mangolds, or coleseed, a few 
VOL, XX. 2 B 
