74 PRACTICAL CORN CULTURE 



on the "Medium Yellow." The "Black Ebony" grows more 

 rank and is about two weeks later than the "Medium 

 Yellow." 



Inoculation: Like other legumes, soy beans utilize the 

 nitrogen in the air and add it to the soil by means of root 

 nodules. These nodules are caused by certain bacteria. Un- 

 less they are present, soy beans in most soils will make but 

 a weak growth; many will turn yellow and some may even 

 die. These bacteria are present in most soils of the South 

 but in the Corn Belt proper, the bacteria are not well distrib- 

 uted, which makes it advisable to inoculate. 



Inoculation of a new field may be secured either by trans- 

 ferring the soil from a well inoculated soy bean field or by 

 using some of the pure cultures advertised. (We obtained 

 our first inoculated soil from the Illinois Experiment Sta- 

 tion at Urbana. The station sells soil at fifty cents per hun- 

 dred pounds and one hundred pounds is enough for twenty 

 acres if the glue process is used.) 



We find the glue process the most economical as well as 

 the most effective. The method consists of sticking parti- 

 cles of the inoculated soil to the beans by wetting the beans 

 in glue water. The glue water is made by dissolving about 

 three pounds of glue in ten gallons of water. This is enough 

 water to wet fifty bushels of beans. (It is a good plan to 

 add about a gallon of flour paste as this gives the glue water 

 a little body.) A layer of beans about four inches deep is 

 thoroughly wet with the glue water and the inoculated soil 

 is sprinkled over them. The beans are then shoveled about 

 until particles of soil are sticking to all the beans. Then 

 another layer is treated in a like manner. The beans should 

 be shoveled over about every half hour until they are dry. 

 They will be dry enough to prevent heating in two to four 

 hours. Do not try to drill until the beans are dry and don't 



