376 FIELD CROPS 



shatters readily, it must be cut before all the pods mature, 

 else much of it will be lost. Small plats may be pulled by 

 hand and the seed beaten out with a flail. Larger fields 

 may be threshed with the ordinary threshing machine or 

 with the special bean thresher. The seed should not be 

 stored in large quantities without plenty of ventilation, for 

 it is likely to heat, thus lowering the germination. 



501. Uses of the Plant. The uses of the soy bean are 

 more numerous than those of the cowpea. As the plants 

 grow erect, they are easily harvested for hay. They are 

 sometimes sown with sorghum, cowpeas, or other crops for 

 the production of mixed hay or silage. The feeding value 

 of the hay is about the same as cowpea hay, though stock 

 do not eat the stems and pods as readily. As pasture, they 

 are hardly so good as cowpeas. The grain is very rich in oil 

 and protein, but contains little starch. In combination with 

 corn, they produce very economical gains when fed to cattle 

 and hogs. As the seeds are hard and not easily crushed by 

 stock, they are usually ground and fed as meal. In China 

 and Japan, the seed of the soy bean is an important article 

 of human food, and is also used in the manufacture of oil. 

 Soy beans are now being used as baked beans, either alone 

 or in combination with navy beans, and are coming into use 

 as human food in the United States in many other ways. 

 Before many years, they are Ukely to become a common 

 article, in our diet and their cultivation is certain to increase 

 immensely, for the uses of this plant as oil, food and forage 

 are very numerous. 



THE PEANUT 



502. The Peanut, Arachis hypogea, differs from the other 

 members of this family which are commonly cultivated in 

 that the seed pods are produced below the surface of the 

 ground. The peanut is believed to be a native of tropical 

 South America. It is one of the few leguminous plants 



