14 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 309 



hairow or weedcr will not work well. On land that can be cultixatefl with reason- 

 able ease, the ideal prorelure is to plow early, harrow at inter\als until plant- 

 ing time, plant, smooth and crnsh clods with a plank drag immediately after 

 planting. The land should then be worked with the weeder or spike tooth harrow, 

 set to work light, often enough to kill the weeds just before the beans come up. 

 UsualK' three or four harrowings will suffice. In harrowing, the rows may be 

 disregarded for the loss of beans by tramping and pulling will not be serious. 

 Plant at a little heavier rate to take care of the loss. In case it should be found 

 necessar>- to cultivate the beans for further weed control after they are 5 to 6 

 inches high, methods and im[)lenients ordinariK" used for cultivation of corn 

 may be used. 



Harvesting Hay. — So\beans make good hay from the time the pods begin to 

 form until the seeds are about full grown. If the crop is cut when the seeds are 

 one-half to two-thirds developed, a better yield and ciuality of ha\- will be ob- 

 tained. Soybeans are more difficult to cure for hay than other legumes, but ma\- 

 be handled b> about the same methods. It is especialh- important to do the 

 raking while the leaves are somewhat tough, for the>- will crumble to pieces and 

 be lost if fulh dr>-. If the>- become too dr>- to rake without injury, they may 

 be left until towards sunset, when the>- will regain moisture and may be raked 

 w ithout loss, or they may be raked while dew is still on them the following morning. 

 The hav can be cured even after exposure to rain if it is cocked in such a manner 

 as to allow the free passage of air through it. Curing frames consisting of four 

 upright poles fastened together can be used to advantage. Soybean hay should 

 be thoroughh' cured before stacking, housing, or baling. 



Harvesting Seed. — So>beans should not be harvested for seed until the leaves 

 have all fallen and the pods are fully mature. If harvest is too early, the yield 

 of seed will be materially lessened and a poor quality of seed secured. The 

 moisture content will also be high and considerable difficulty experienced in curing 

 the seed properh . 



The grain binder may be used to advantage with the taller growing varieties. 

 The bundles should be small and not too tight. If a binder is not available, a 

 self-rake reaper or a mower with a bunching attachment may be used. The 

 ordinarv grain thresher can be adapted to threshing soybeans by removing the 

 first concave and substituting a wooden block. The speed of the cxlinder should 

 be reduced to about one-half the normal threshing rate. 



Combines are now used extensively in the large seed-producing regions. These 

 machines cut the mature plants and elevate them to the c>linder, where the beans 

 are threshed. 



Pests of Soybeans 



Woodchucks seem to prefer young so\beans to anything else, and if not con- 

 trolled will destro>- an unbelievable acreage in just a few days while the plants 

 are small. The onl\- safe procedure is to patrol the field at least twice a week 

 while the beans are small, looking for bare spots or other evidence of woodchuck 

 damage, and when located, to exterminate the woodchucks forthwith. One or 

 two ounces of calcium cyanide thrown well down the hole, the hole then being 

 sealed with dirt, has proved ver\- effective. 



An insect pect that has recenth- invaded New England is the Mexican bean 

 beetle. While this insect is less injurious to the soybean than to some other bean 



