Il6 MAINE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 1904. 



should be at least 20 inches apart and the soil should be kept 

 stirred and clean, as in the case of ordinary field beans. If 

 wanted for silage, the beans can be grown alone or planted with 

 corn. The latter method is quite strongly recommended, the 

 seeds being mixed and put in the planter in the proportion of 

 10 quarts of corn to 7 of beans. The forage from this mixture 

 can be fed green or cut for the silo. 



HARVESTING. 



From analyses made at the South Carolina Experiment Sta- 

 tion it appears that the dry matter carries relatively about the 

 same percentages of protein and fat when the pods are just 

 forming as they do when the pods are well developed. The 

 stalk carries a large amount of crude fiber, and on this account 

 the leaves are the most important part of the green plant for 

 feeding. The yield will be somewhat greater near maturity but 

 when digestibility and palatability are considered, cutting as 

 soon as the pods form is probably better. From our experi- 

 ments, plants will be ready to cut with corn for silage if the seed 

 is planted about June 10. 



If the crop is to be used for soiling, cutting can begin when 

 the plants are in early bloom and can be kept up in this climate 

 until frost. The soy bean is a coarse growing plant and cures 

 slowly, and on this account it is doubtful if it should ever be 

 grown in Maine to be cured as hay. Cock curing is the most 

 practical method, but will be likely to prove unsatisfactory. For 

 the silo the harvesting can be delayed as long as it is prudent to 

 allow corn to stand in the field. A grain reaper and binder can 

 be used to advantage in harvesting this crop for the silo. If in 

 drills 16 inches apart, 3 or 4 rows can be cut at once. A mow- 

 ing machine can be used to cut the crop, but it will not handle as 

 well for the silage cutter as when in bundles. 



In harvesting a crop for seed, it can be cut before the pods 

 are mature. If the pods become too ripe (in this climate there 

 is little danger of this, however,) before harvesting, they are 

 liable to burst and shell and thus part of the seed be lost. In 

 harvesting for seed the crop can be pulled by hand, or cut by 

 hand or machine. It will be quickest cured if put in piles 

 that are relatively high and narrow. Threshing can be by hand 

 or machine. 



