2/O THE FORAGE AND FIBER CROPS IN AMERICA 



varieties may be used, according to the length of the season and the time at 

 which the crop is to be used. In the New England states the 'Medium Early 

 Green' variety is generally preferred, while in the Central states 'Medium 

 Early Black' seems to be the favorite. In the South the 'medium' or 'late' 

 varieties are used, some preferring one and some another. For green manuring 

 the large, medium or late varieties are best, 'Medium Late Black' being ex- 

 cellent for this purpose." 1 



334. Distribution. In oriental countries the use of legumes 

 or pulses "of many kinds as human food is much more common 

 than in Europe and America, which, in connection with fish 

 and poultry, accounts for the less extensive use of red meat 

 among orientals. The soy bean is one of the most extensively 

 used of these legumes, especially in Japan, where many prep- 

 arations are made from it, it being seldom, if ever, used alone 

 as a vegetable. It has been introduced into Europe, and in 

 1878 Haberlandt published results of experiments strongly 

 urging its cultivation as a food plant for both man and domestic 

 animals. It was introduced into the United States in 1854 with- 

 out attracting wide attention until recent years, when many 

 new varieties have been introduced, chiefly through the efforts 

 of the Massachusetts and the Kansas stations, which have ex- 

 perimented with this crop quite extensively. 



At least 31 stations in the United States and Canada have 

 studied this plant, and most of them have reported more or less 

 favorably. It has also been widely tried by farmers throughout 

 the United States, but never extensively grown. While it is a 

 plant of undoubted value, under present economic conditions 

 it does not seem destined to equal in importance cowpeas, 

 field peas, or field beans. Whether grown for seed or for 

 forage, in practise the yields have been disappointing, although 

 excellent results have been obtained at experiment stations. The 

 Illinois Station reports, with six maturing varieties, yields of 

 seed ranging from 28 to 42 bushels per acre. 2 When grown 

 for forage, it is difficult to cure properly, and when grown for 

 seed it is difficult to harvest without loss of seed. 



iU. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers' BuU No. 58, pp. 6, 7. 



2 Illinois Sta. Circ. No. 69, p. 7. 



