The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-04-20
20 pRlLL 10 by.

r. M. DOVE. professor of agricul-
tural engineering at the A. c. has is
sued the following bulletin:
At this time when the farmers are
preparing for the seeding of their
grain and many have to purchase new
seeding machinery they would do well
to recall an old Biblical a1lusion, CAS-
We SOW so shall We reap" There are
number Of drills on the market most
Of which possess many points of ex-
cellence so that there is but little
choice between them. The question,
then is not what drill to buy, but
what type OF furrow opener Is best
adapted for the soil on which the drill
is to be used
In the matter of flrrow openers the
manufacturers have been unable to
produce type chat will do perfect
work in any soil' They have found it
necessary to place upon the market a
number OF varieties to that one of them
may suit the soil condition In any Sec
ton where grain Is raised, A number
OF standard furrow openers has been
the result. The hoe drill succeeded
the broadcast seeder, and ins spring
wheat seeding, especially. the shoe
drill superseded the hoe rdill, so that
at present the latter has become prac-
tically obsolete. Later single disc and
double disc drills were introduced and
each is unquestionably the best for
some localities.
The hoe drill--Farmers who have
had experience with various soils know
that the hoe drill will not do salts
factory work in extremely hard ground
| filled with long stubbIe or thrash Of
any kind. 1t does fair work in a clean.
well prepared seed bed but will not
sow at as even depth as the others
and is not to be compared with them.
The shoe drill will not do satigfac-
tory work in extremely hard ground or
in clay ground which bakes in Jumps.
The shoe drill does good work in a
clean seed bed that has been thor
oughly loosened and pulverized by har-
rowing. 1t is not as good as the disc
opener for sowing wheat on stuBble
ground, q common practice where win
| ter wheat is sown after spring crops.
neither Is it success on corn stubbie.
1t has the advantage of simplicity
over the disc openers as 1t has no
bearings, requires less care and lasts
longer
The single disc drill has more pene-
| tration than the other forms OF FUR
| ROW openers and is, therefore, es-
peciaily well suited for hard and
thrashy ground. The discs are usually
made dished, like those of disc har-
row, so that they do considerable work
in pulverizing the soil ana in prepar-
l ing the seed bed while the others do
little bttt merely SOW the grain. On
this account one would naturally ex-
pect til draft of the single disc to be
/ greater than that Of the double disc
and such is the case. The following
results of draft tests taken in the
same field, on the same day, at the
North Dakota experiment station will
prove this point:
| Single disc drill: Distance apart OF
rows. 6 inches: number of discs, %;
distance covered in feet. II; total draft
IN pounds. $50: draft per foot, 77.27.
Double disc drill: Distance apart 81
rows, s inches: number OF discs. %
distance covered In feet, III: total draft
In pounds, SIS; draft per foot, e2.27.
/ Some OF the objections to the single
disc are: First 1t tends to make the
ground uneven. since the soil is thrown
in only one direction and is left iii
ridges. but to compensate for this II
leaves the soil in better filth than any
\ other form. Second. there is d ten
J dency for the discs to clog In wet