GRASS AND HAY 85 



bushel of good seed is sufficient to plant from 2 to 3 acres if in culti- 

 vated rows, and hardly enough for 1 acre if sown broadcast. 



The cultivation of soy beans is a simple matter. Unless condi- 

 tions are very unfavorable the seedling plants appear above ground in 

 a week and tillage may then begin. Any good cultivator may be used, 

 and flat cultivation is preferable, as the harvesting can be more easily 

 done than if the rows are hilled or ridged. Soy beans may be planted 

 through a wide period from early spring till midsummer. Ordinarily 

 the bean is planted about June 1. In the lowlands of Tennessee and 

 North Carolina and southward two crops of the early and medium 

 varieties may be secured in a season. In general, early plantings 

 require more time to mature than late plantings, the difference in 

 the same variety often amounting to as much as three weeks. 

 (F. B. Bui. 372.) 



The Inoculation of Soy Beans. Like other legumes, the soy 

 bean is able to utilize the nitrogen of the air and add it to the soil by 

 means of root nodules. These nodules are caused by certain bacteria ; 

 unless they are present soy beans in the usual types of soil will make 

 but a weak growth, and many of the plants will turn yellow and die. 

 Throughput the South the proper bacteria for soy beans seem to be 

 widely distributed, so that natural inoculation now occurs generally. 

 In isolated localities where this crop has not been grown, however, 

 some difficulty may be expected from lack of inoculation, during the 

 first season at least. Northward and westward greater difficulty in 

 this regard is experienced. 



Inoculation of a new field may be secured either by the soil- 

 transfer method or by the use of the pure cultures prepared by the 

 Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. The soil-transfer 

 method consists in scattering soil from an old, well-inoculated soy- 

 bean field over the new ground at the rate of 200 to 300 pounds per 

 acre. To facilitate even scattering this should be thoroughly mixed 

 with several times its weight of ordinary soil. The soil may be either 

 drilled or broadcasted. In the latter case it should be done toward 

 evening or on a cloudy day, as bright sunshine is very harmful to 

 the germs. The objections to the soil-transfer method are the labor 

 and cost involved and the serious liability of spreading weeds and 

 dangerous plant diseases. Successful inoculation by this method is, 

 however, practically certain. 



Soy-Bean Hay. Soy-bean hay when cut at the proper stage of 

 growth and carefully cured is excellent, and for dairy cattle at least 

 yields results equal to alfalfa hay. For hay production soy beans 

 may be planted in cultivated rows, or when the ground is free from 

 weeds they may be drilled or broadcasted. The late or medium-late 

 varieties are as a general thing best adapted for hay production. 

 These varieties grow to a greater height and have finer stems and 

 branches and more leaves than do the earlier sorts. Of the varieties 

 now handled by seedsmen the best for hay production are the Mam- 

 moth and Ito San. The Mammoth variety makes a very large growth 

 of plant, usually produces a large quantity of seed, and is well 

 adapted for growing in the entire South. The Ito San is smaller, 



