LEGUMINOUS CROPS 73 



of the machine should also be lowered to prevent choking. 



Culture: Soy beans should be planted on the poorest land 

 on the farm. If it is possible to do so, it is well to break the 

 ground early and harrow it once, then leave it until after 

 the corn is all planted before working it in to a seed bed 

 and planting the beans. It is not hard to get a good stand 

 if the seed is good and the seed bed is moist and warm. 

 These last two conditions are absolutely essential. 



The soy bean is just as susceptible to frost as garden 

 beans. Cold ground will rot the seed and a frost will kill 

 the plant after it is up. From the first to the middle of 

 June is a good time to sow the beans in central Illinois. 

 The soy bean can stand considerable dry weather after the 

 plant has attained the height of four or more inches. The 

 seed should never be planted in dry ground, since it will 

 swell and rot unless the drilling is followed by an early rain. 

 It is better to wait until the rain comes before beginning to 

 drill. 



The se'ed bed should be prepared as for corn and all 

 weeds killed immediately before sowing. "We prefer to drill 

 the beans and use an ordinary grain drill. We sow about 

 one and one-half bushels and use all the holes in the drill. 

 If we get a good stand and have favorable weather the field 

 will be free from weeds, since the rank growth will smother 

 them out. Good results have been secured by planting less 

 than half the above amount of seed per acre. "We drill thick 

 in order to smother out the weeds. We have never tried 

 drilling in wider rows and cultivating since our time at this 

 season of the year is needed in the cornfields. With a good 

 seed bed, the seed should be planted about three inches deep. 



We have grown mostly the "Medium Yellow" but this 

 last year we have tried the "Black Ebony" or "Medium 

 Black" as it is sometimes called. For some reason or other 

 the nitrogen-gathering nodules on the roots are larger than 



