CLASSIFICATION. , 9 



in lu'ight and required one hundred and twenty days to reach matu- 

 rity, and was therefore called a "medium yellow." In 1905 the 

 average height was 30 to 36 inches and one hundred and thirty to 

 one himdred and forty days were needed to reach the mature condi- 

 tion, thus placing it with the "medium late yellow" variety Ilolly- 

 brook, where it remains. While this is the most extreme case re- 

 corded, those somewhat less extreme are quite common. 



Considerable variation is frequently noticed in the size of the seeds 

 of a given variety. As might be supposed, the pods and seeds pro- 

 duced on plants dwarfed by drought, thick planting, etc., are gener- 

 ally smaller than those produced on normal plants. In a given 

 season the average size of the seeds may be markedly different from 

 that of the preceding or succeeding season. The seeds from pods 

 produced late in the season are very likely to be noticeabl}' reduced 

 in size. 



Most of the different numbers listed under the varieties described 

 have been grown for three years, exclusive of the very mifavorable 

 season of 1904. Some later arrivals have been studied but two years. 

 Bearmg in mind, therefore, the range of variation which may be 

 expected and the causes which incite it, the writer can scarcely hope 

 that no errors of classification have })een made. He can only trust 

 that whoever pursues this subject far enough to prove such errors 

 will be in a position to understand and overlook them. 



The facts stated will explain why such wide range is given 

 in the tables and the descriptions to the average height and the 

 average time required by any variety to reach maturity. Neither 

 the minimum nor the maximum extreme is given in most cases, but 

 rather the limits observed under fairly favorable circumstances. In 

 the region lying between latitude 37° and 43° north and east of 

 the ninety-seventh meridian (the west line of Minnesota and 

 Indian Territory) soy beans are at their best in this country. There 

 they are finding their most prominent and useful place in the agri- 

 cultural system. In the Gulf region and on the Plains their height 

 is likely to be much reduced, although the seed yield may not be 

 impaired. The reduction in size is often accompanied by earlier 

 maturity. In the Northern States the height reached may be even 

 greater than that specified, but the seed yields are likely to be 

 small and the growing period prolonged, at least until our varieties 

 are more completely acclimated in those States. 



CLASSIFICATION. 



The first separation of the numerous forms or agricultural varie- 

 ties of this species will naturally be through the colors of the seeds. 

 The varieties having seeds of the solid colors black and yellow 

 are by far the most numerous and the most striking. The greens 



