T()2 Grasses and Leguminous Crops in New York 



corn. It means growing less tons of corn, but filling the silo 

 with a more nutritious fodder. 



A number of farmers have tried to find ways of growing soy 

 beans and corn together in the hill or drill row in order that 

 the two crops may be already mixed when harvested. In this 

 attempt some have been measurably successful. The soy bean 

 seeds are mixed with the seed corn, or are dropped from separate 

 boxes on the corn planter, or the soy beans are planted by hand in 

 the corn hills as a separate operation. It should be noted that 

 the more the corn shades the beans, the more slender and weak 

 will be their growth. In order to give the beans more light and 

 to increase the proportion of bean fodder in the mixture, one 

 ingenious grower omits every third row of com. He is able to 

 harvest a mixed crop that is 20 per cent soy beans, while the fuU- 

 stand-of-com method will usually produce a mixture with about 

 5 per cent of soy beans. The effect of the soy beans on the growth 

 of the corn varies under different circumstances. 



Some growers observe that the growth of the corn is reduced by 

 the presence of the soy beans. Others have seen their corn grow 

 taller and color a deeper green where the soy beans were asso- 

 ciated with them. In the former case it seems that the soy beans 

 compete with the corn as do weeds for the available nitrogen ; in 

 the latter, it seems likely that the nitrogen-gathering quality of 

 the soy beans is being utilized to the advantage of both corn and 

 soy beans. The mixed crop is successfully harvested in bundles 

 with a corn binder. 



Soy Bean liny 



It is possible to harvest from one to four tons of very nutritious 

 hay from an acre of soy beans. For dairy cattle it is the equal 

 of alfalfa hay, but they must be accustomed to it before they 

 will eat it readily. Cows have even shown a preference for soy 

 bean hay over alfalfa after having both offered to thein. 



The best varieties for hay production are those which have 

 a fine, 'slender stem. The Peking, a variety with small black 

 seeds and a slightly trailing habit of growth, is recommended for 

 this purpose. The seeding should be at the rate of from 1^/2 to 2 

 bushels per acre, using all the hoes of the gi-ain drill. Without 



