THIRD ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VI. 293 



soil. It is further true that the roots in penetrating the sub-soil tend 

 to bring unavailable plant food to the surface soil where it can be used. 

 Experiments and experience have shown that these crops are extremely 

 valuable for feeding purposes, being rich in protein and minerals, and 

 thus promote development of bone and muscle in young animals. 



To get a stand of these crops in corn the best plan is to drill in the 

 seed just after the last cultivation. An ardinary three-row wheat drill 

 will do the work very satisfactorily or a corn drill or a small one-horse 

 drill of any sort may be used. The seed should be drilled in deep 

 enough to reach the moist earth. Three rows are the best number to 

 drill between two rows of corn. Drill the seeds about one inch apart 

 in the row. At this rate one bushel of seed will sow an acre. Seed 

 may also be broadcasted just before the last cultivation. The cultivator 

 will cover the seed with moist earth and they will usually sprout quickly. 

 The difficulty with this method of seeding comes from the fact that 

 many of the seeds will not be covered evenly and many such seeds will 

 not grow. It is customary when sown broadcast to sow about one and 

 one-half bushels of seed per acre. 



The varieties of cow peas best adapted for this method of planting 

 are the Extra Early Black Eye, Clay, Red Ripper and the Whippoorwill. 

 With a favorable season these will make a growth of vines two or three 

 feet in length, but will not mature seed. Sheep or hogs turned into 

 such a field will clean up the vines to the last vestige, leaving the manure 

 scattered in the best possible shape for improving the fertility of the 

 soil. If it is not convenient to turn stock into such fields the vines can 

 be plowed under in the late fall or early spring. If plowed under in 

 the spring the field should be disced before plowing in order to work 

 the stalks into the ground and cut them up in such a way that they can 

 be successfully turned under. A heavy freeze will wilt the plants so 

 that the pasturing should be done as early in the fall as possible. 



The best variety of soy beans for this purpose is the Medium Early 

 Yellow. Great disappointment has been occasioned by farmers securing 

 seed of the mammoth or very late varieties which will not mature in 

 the latitude of central Illinois and are of little use for this purpose. 

 The green soy bean matured at this station last season and produced 

 a crop of seed of about eighteen bushels per acre. The soy bean is par- 

 ticularly desirable for sowing in corn, making an upright growth and 

 flourishing particularly well in the corn rows. Last season on the sta- 

 tion farm the beans were found to grpw from two to five feet in height. 

 They developed tubercules as large as small marbles and put the soil in 

 splendid shape for the future corn crop. Owing to the facft that these 

 plants will wilt down in freezing they do not interfere in husking the 

 corn. 



The great value of cow peas and soy beans to the soil comes from 

 the fact that th'ey come on in the corn field after the corn crop has ceased 

 to draw on the plant fopd in the soil. During the latter part of the 

 summer the organisms in the soil liberate plant food and continue this 

 work until cold weather. If some crop does not take up this fertility it 



