Rocky Ford enterprise., 1902-02-14


after q rain. one plant win help the
other to break through the ground. pro-
videl they are close together. hut
young plants he far apart, they will
not In strong enough To lift the crust
aud will smother In the attempt Of
penetrating the ground.
And now To the last question: Which
IL the best way OF depOsiting the seedf
To make the answer brief. ! will say:
Sow your seed dry and In continuous
drill rows, While some adyocatc soak
Ing the sned before. planting, and de-
I,0siting II In hills from six to eight
inches. apart. l Will mention this, that
if the. s,sd Ii soaked or molstened.
great pains must be taken that II il not
kept for amy length OF time In this con-
dition. as II will heat and thus smother
the germs, or elise the seed viii miidew.
Besides this danger OF spelling. the
soaked seed never runs satisfactorily
through the drill and n constant chok-
ing of the feeders In common occur
renee. Furthermore. II soaked seed is
planted and the seed bed dries out very
fast. the germ which is developed
through the moistcning before seeding
Is unable To get nm ample supply OF wa
ter from the soil for It's further growth
and dies out In very short time. lciv-
Ing the seed lifcless In the ground, un.
able to respond to the effects OF rain or
later irrigation.
As to the planting OF the seed In hills,
IL Is hardly necessary To explain that
In ease OF parasitic destruction the
damage done To the stand In such n
field Will bc from two to three times ns
large as II will be In field OF continu-
Gus drill rows. FOR wherever n hill has
been destroyed there IL not plant for
nj least sixteen or twcnfy-four Inches.
while In the continuous drill row
moderately good stand can L. secured
by careful thinning later ON. Plant
Ing In hills also leaves morc open
space In the field and this encourages
the growth Of weeds. and In ease Of
frost or other adverse climnticnl condi-
tions the Isolated hills do not offer as
much resistance as the continuous
drill row with n thick stand OF young
plants.
In conclusion ! beg 10 call your ni-
tcniion Yet 10 the great Importance OF
straight rows. which Will facilitate tho
later operations OF hocIng. cnlilvatin.
and irrlgntIng. to the necessity OF u
uniform speed OF the team. which il
hitcied to the scc,lcr. In order to pro-
cure regular flow Of seed. ns every
Jerk Will send u lnrIcr quantity OF
seed through the feeders, while less
speed Will decrease the flow Of the seed
through Ill. tunnels. DO not plant
where the soil is 80 moist that II
sticks To the wheels or the press
wheels. as the latter viii pick up the
fine soil over the seed and uncover the
same. or form scales over the drill row.
which dry In the sun ana prevent the
germs from breaking through the
ground. Watch your scctlcr carefully.
- that you notice NIL Irregularities.
such as choking Of the seed. etc. and
remedy same Immediately before you
have Injured your stand through lack
Of proper attention. Set your drill per.
fcctiy before entering the iicii-mcas.
urc carefully the width Of your rows.
the distance OF the marker from the
center Of the machine. gauge the depth
Of the runners. and last. but not least.
sec that the tongue IL level and prop.
crly weighed down. In order to offset
the effect OF your weight on the bal.
nncc OF the drill.
While many more points OF great i'm.
portaDcc on the seeding Of sugar bccts
could lie brought before you to-day.
feel that I have taken already morc
than my share OF the time allotted to
'hc discussion OF this subject. and viii.
therefore. conclude this paper. thank.
ing you for the close attention YOU
have rnid to It's contents.
WILLIAM wINTERHALTER.
Rocky Ford. Colo. Jan. II. 1901.