sowing small seeds, which will deposit the same before or
behind the grain tubes as may be desired. The seed is thus sown at the
same time as the grain, and in the process is scattered evenly over the
surface of the ground. These seeder attachments, however, will not sow
all kinds of clover and grass mixtures any more than will hand-sowing
machines do the same.
=Depth to Bury the Seed.=--The depth to bury the seed varies with the
conditions of soil, climate and season. Clover seeds, like those of
grasses, are buried most deeply in the light soils of the prairie so
light that they sink, so as to make walking over them unusually tiresome
when working on newly plowed land, and in other instances so light as to
lift with the wind. On such soils the seeds may be buried to the depth
of 2 to 3 inches. On loam soils, a covering of 1 inch or less would be
ample, and on stiff clays the covering may even be lighter under normal
conditions.
Clover seeds are buried more deeply in dry than in moist climates, and
also more deeply in dry portions of the year than when moisture is
sufficient. While it may be proper in some instances to scatter the
seeds on the surface without any covering other than is furnished by
rain or frost, it will be very necessary at other seasons to provide a
covering to insure a stand of the seed.
When clover seed is sown on ground honeycombed with frost, no covering
is necessary. When sown on winter grain in the spring, the ground not
being so honeycombed, covering with the harrow is usually advantageous.
When sown on spring crops and early in the season, it may not be
necessary to cover the seed, except by using the roller, even though the
seed should fall behind the grain tubes while the grain crop is being
sown, or should be sown subsequently by hand. In other instances the
harrow should be used, and sometimes both the roller and the harrow.
Under conditions such as appertain to New England and the adjacent
States to Ontario and the provinces east and to the land west of the
Cascade Mountains, clover and also grass seeds do not require so much of
a covering as when sown on the prairie soils of the central portion of
the continent.
=Sowing Alone or in Combinations.=--Whether clover seed should be sown
alone or in combination with the seeds of other grasses will depend upon
the object sought in sowing it. When sown to produce seed, it is usually
sown without admixture, but not in every instance; whe
|