LEGUMINOUS CROPS 73 
of the machine should also be lowered to prevent choking. 
Culture: Soy beans should be planted on the poorest land 
on the farm. If it is possible to do so, it is well to break the 
ground early and harrow it once, then leave it until after 
the corn is all planted before working it in to a seed hed 
and planting the beans. It is not hard to get a good stand 
if the seed is good and the seed bed is moist and warm. 
‘These last two conditions are absolutely essential. 
The soy bean is just as susceptible to frost as garden 
beans. Cold ground will rot the seed and a frost will kill 
the plant after it is up. From the first to the middle of 
June is a good time to sow the beans in central Illinois. 
The soy bean can stand considerable dry weather after the 
plant has attained the height of four or more inches. The 
seed should never be planted in dry ground, since it will 
swell and rot unless the drilling is followed by an early rain. 
It.is better to wait until the rain comes before beginning to 
drill. 
The seed bed should be prepared as for corn and all 
weeds killed immediately before sowing. We prefer to drill 
the beans and use an ordinary grain drill. We sow about 
one and one-half bushels and use all the holes in the drill. 
If we get a good stand and have favorable weather the field 
will be free from weeds, since the rank growth will smother. 
them out. Good results have been secured by planting less 
than half the above amount of seed per acre. We drill thick 
in order to smother out the weeds. We have never tried 
drilling in wider rows and cultivating since our time at. this 
season of the year is needed in the cornfields. With a good 
seed bed, the seed should be planted about three inches deep. 
We have grown mostly the ‘‘Medium Yellow’’ but this 
last year we have tried the ‘‘Black Ebony’’ or ‘‘Medium 
Black’’ ag it is sometimes called. For some reason or other 
the nitrogen-gathering nodules on the roots are larger than 
