270 Bulletin 310 



stand of corn plants, and partly to the differences in the varieties of com 

 with which the beans were grown. Since but one experiment shows an 

 apparent increase in the growth of corn with which beans were mixed 

 over that which grew alone, it can be said that generally the addition of 

 beans to the com hill or row tends to decrease the weight of the corn 

 fodder produced. With the usual stand of corn plants to which beans are 

 added, this reduction is not a serious disadvantage because the additional 

 fodder produced in the soy bean plants and the superior quality of the 

 mixed fodder will more than outweigh the loss. Of the twelve experiments 

 five show an actual decrease in yield of fodder where soy beans were mixed 

 with com. The variations in decrease and increase of production are 

 similar and almost neutralize each other when the mean of all (+-S per 

 cent) is taken. 



EXPERIMENTS ON THE UNIVERSITY FARM 



During three successive years, experiments, paralleling those just 

 mentioned, were made on the Cornell University farm. Mixed com and 

 soy beans were planted in part of a cornfield each year. In 1908 and ig'io 

 no inoculating material was used. In 1909 a culture of root-tubercle 

 bacteria adapted to soy beans was used to inoculate the beans. An 

 abundance of the tubercles formed on the roots close to the stem. (Where 

 soil inoculation is practiced, tubercles occur anywhere on the roots of soy 

 beans.) The weights by which comparisons were made were taken from 

 areas of 1^0 to i acre. Samples of the fodder produced on each plat 

 were analyzed in order to compare the quality of the fodders produced. 

 Pride of the North dent corn and Medium Green soy beans were used 

 each year for the experiment. The mixed seed was planted with a two- 

 row horse-drawn planter, which was adjusted to drop small hills of seed 

 spaced 10 inches apart. The distribution of seed in the row was very much 

 like that obtained by drilling continuously. In 1908 the soy bean seed 

 was inferior and a thin stand of the plants came up in a normal stand of 

 corn. The plat from which pure com was weighed that year was not 

 contiguous to the plat that grew the mixed fodder, but was located in the 

 same field. The difference in yields of fodder between the two plats is 

 probably due partly to differences in soil fertihty. The results are shown 

 herewith : 



