Choosing a Forage Crop 179 



lated land it is a good soil builder, and its richness in 

 protein insures excellent results when foraged by pigs 

 fed com. Being particularly a hot weather crop, it is 

 usually available in the late summer and fall. In the 

 South it will furnish considerable valuable forage and 

 much nitrogen for the soil when grown as a second crop 

 following grain. It may be pastured as a green forage 

 by turning in before the pods begin to form, or as a seed 

 crop by keeping the pigs off until the leaves begin to 

 tiu-n and the seed to mature. The stiff woody nature of 

 the growth of most varieties would suggest that it could be 

 used more profitably for its seed than for its leaves. If 

 the seeds are allowed to mature, one acre of good beans 

 will furnish enough protein for grazing shotes to balance 

 four acres of 50-bushel com. The bean itself contains 

 practically as much protein as linseed-oil meal. Its 

 value as a supplement to corn has encouraged the 

 practice of planting it with the corn which is to be 

 "hogged down." In seasons of suflBcient rainfall, the 

 growth of beans is thought to have little effect on the 

 yield of com. 



Soybeans as a forage crop, however, has certain limi- 

 tations. It does not provide grazing through a long 

 period. When foraged chiefly as a seed crop, its use is 

 limited to the fall and early winter ; when used as a green 

 forage, it is not available until quite late in the summer. 

 Also, soybeans tend to produce soft pork. When pigs 

 grazing the mature beans are fed little or no additional 

 grain, as is commonly the practice in the South, the 

 carcasses will lack the firmness to escape dockage by the 

 packer. When followed by a month or more of corn 

 feeding, however, the effects are not noticeable with 

 pigs of the lard type. 



