26o 



Bulletin 310 



it unnecessary or unprofitable to feed grain in the ration; but in practice 

 it has been found possible to reduce the amount of grain fed to dairy cows 

 and maintain the milk flow, if a portion of the ensilage consists of soy 

 bean fodder. The digestibility of soy beans compares favorably with 

 that of alfalfa and clover. Ensilage made from corn and soy beans has 

 been found more digestible than that made from dent corn alone.* Be- 

 cause soy bean fodder is a high-protein feed that can be produced under 

 practically the same conditions as can Indian corn, it deserves more 

 attention from live-stock farmers, especially those feeding for milk produc- 

 tion. 



SOY BEANS AS NITROGEN GATHERERS 



The soy bean possesses, in common with other members of the legume 

 family, the merit of utilizing the free nitrogen of the air through the forma- 

 tion of root tubercles 

 in which live nitrogen- 

 gathering bacteria. 

 The crop will flourish 

 and produce heavily 

 on good fertile soil 

 without the formation 

 of tubercles on the 

 roots; but unless the 

 necessary bacteria are 

 already present or are 

 introduced into the 

 soil when soy beans 

 are planted, the crop 

 cannot be expected 

 to act as a gatherer 

 of nitrogen from the 

 air. The formation 

 of tubercles on the 

 roots of soy beans 

 does not always result 

 in an apparent in- 

 creased growth of 

 fodder. It may do 

 so, or it may result in 

 a fodder that is richer 

 in nitrogenous compounds than that produced without tubercles. At 

 the Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station, analyses of both roots 



*" Feeds and feeding," by W. A. Henry. 



Fig. 53. — Thrifty soy bean plants partially filled with seed 

 pods. Clusters of tubercles on the roots were produced 

 by soil inoculation 



