100 



seed shatter Inidly when haVvestcd with hinder or 

 mower; hut if the seed is to he harvested with a special 

 soy heaii harveslt-r. tlie plants sliould stand until the 

 jxods Ijeeome thoroughly ripe. 



When only a i)ateli is })lanted. the plants can he cut 

 with a corn knife or sharp hoe, or pulled up, and cured 

 in small piles and thrashed out with a flail. Where 

 several acres are m'own. thev niav he cut with a mower, 

 self rake reaper, or hintler, and raked or dumped into 

 small piles to cure. As soon as they are cured, they 

 should he put under a shed or thrashed. 



The special hean harvester, of which there are sever- 

 al kinds now in use, has revolving arms working in a 

 large hox, which is mounted on wheels and drawn hy 

 two horses. While the machine is passing over a row, 

 the revolving" arms strike the i)lants and knock out 

 the ripe heans, which are caught in the hox. A team 

 and two men harvest ahout five or six acres a day. The 

 harvester is not started in the morning until after the 

 dew dries off. When such a machine is used, proljahly 

 20 per cent of the crop is shattered on the ground, or is 

 left on the plants. When such is the case, hogs should 

 be permitted to run in the fields and gather them. 



Thrashing and Sioring Sked 



Where the acreage is small, the plants may he spread 

 on a floor or wagon sheet to dry, after which they can 

 be beaten out with a flail. 



Soy beans can be thrashed with an ordinary grain 

 thrasher, if the s])eed of the cylinder is reduced to 

 about half of that for grain (ahout 300 revolutions per 

 minute) and some of the spikes removed from the 

 concave. The slowing down of the cylinder may be 

 secui-ed hy Iniilding up the diameter of the drive pulley. 

 If the sj)eed is not reduced, many seed will Ijc lost. The 

 other parts of the separator must run at the normal 

 speed, otherwise straw and chaff will clog the shaker 

 and heater, and ])oor separation will result. 



If the thrashed beans are stored damp or in a damp 

 place, they will heat and become unfit for planting.^ 

 By putting them in bags and piling the bags in such 

 a way that good ventilation is secured, they may be 

 kept without much injury for one or two years. How- 

 ever, long storing reduces their percentage of germina-" 

 tion and a germination test of old seed should l3C made 

 before planting them. 



