LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. I4I 



practicable to grow it thus. Its province as a catch 

 crop is more circumscribed than that of the cowpea, 

 since in many of its varieties it takes longer to 

 mature. Nevertheless, there are many crops which 

 it may be made to follow the same season, as, for 

 instance, winter rye, winter wheat, grain forage 

 eaten down, or an early crop of potatoes. 



Soil. — A warm, rich vegetable soil with a 

 porous subsoil is best adapted to the growth of the 

 soy bean. The soils of the fertile prairie, therefore, 

 are a natural home for it. It will also grow admir- 

 ably in the russet volcanic ash soils of the country 

 west of the Rocky mountains. On poor, sandy soils 

 it will not make a large growth unless these are first 

 fertilized. A moderate amount of clay in the soil 

 is grateful to the soy bean, but an excess of clay in 

 the soil or subsoil hinders growth. Of course a soil 

 saturated with water during much of the period of 

 growth would be fatal to success. 



Preparing the Soil. — The preparation of the 

 soil for the soy bean is much the same as for the 

 cowpea (see Page 134). A reep, fine, firm and 

 moist seed bed should be sought But this does not 

 necessarily imply that the plowing shall be deep 

 when done in the early summer and on the dry soils 

 of the prairie. When the soy bean is planted after 

 a grain crop which has just matured, a free use of 

 the harrow and roller should be made in a normal 

 season to conserve moisture. When the soil needs 

 fertilizing, those fertilizers which are most needed 

 by the cowpea are also most needed by the soy bean, 

 and the mode of applying them is also similar (see 

 Page 134). 



Sowing. — Soy beans are commonly sown on 



