By Some Experts Late Autumn Sowing Is Strongly Advocated, As,
During The Fall, Owing To The Dryness Of The Atmosphere, There Is
Scarcely Any Growth; So That The Grain Sown Late Cannot Germinate,
Nor Can It Absorb Water Or Rain Enough To Rot It, The Winters
Being So Dry.
And when the first days of spring come the snow
melts, the starch of the seed has changed to
Grape-sugar, and
begins to germinate; so that the young plants will in no way be
damaged by subsequent droughts, nor by the frosts which sometimes
come after heavy rains in August and much injure the crops. At the
present moment we are craving for rain, and should the crops not
be as plentiful this year as expected, on account of the drought,
I should feel much inclined to try autumn sowing.
Before the prairie is broken, the turf is very tough, and requires
a great deal of force to break it; but when once turned the
subsequent ploughings are easy.
Our chief difficulty and trouble are the stones; they generally
lie just beneath the surface, differing very much in size. Some
are huge and have to be regularly trenched round and horses
harnessed to a chain put round them to raise them out of the
ground; when they are put on to the stone-boat and conveyed to the
boundary fence. It generally falls to E - - 's and my special lot
to drive the stone-boat or the waggons, whilst the men with
crowbars and spades go before the ploughs clearing them all away,
for fear they may blunt the shares and throw them out of the
furrow.
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