The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
883 
Soy Beans and Corn Silage 
CORN-BELT PRACTICE. — A very common 
corn-belt practice, and one followed in a lim¬ 
ited manner in New York State, is to plant Soy 
beans with corn, harvesting the entire crop for 
silage. A few years ago Western farmers thought 
that Soy beans by drawing nitrogen from the air, 
increased the yields of corn, but it has been found 
that the Soys reduce the yield of corn a little; how¬ 
ever, the total amount of feed harvested per acre 
in the corn and Soy bean mixtures is greater than 
with corn alone. If the Soy beans are well in¬ 
oculated and the soil is fertile, with plenty of mois¬ 
ture, the difference in yield is very little. The dif¬ 
ference is more than offset by the increased feeding 
value of the silage. Eastern farmers usually plant 
corn much thicker than do Western farmers. I be¬ 
lieve we should reduce the amounts of corn planted 
in order to have best success with the Soy bean and 
corn mixture. About six quarts of corn and two to 
three quarts ot Soys should give best results. I 
do not believe 'that over eight quarts of corn should 
be used, and then only on well-manured and fer¬ 
tilized soil. 
METHOD OF SEEDING.—Special Soy bean 
plates may be placed in the fertilizer attachments 
of the corn planner and both the Soys and corn may 
thus be planted at once, whether drilling or check- 
rowing. If these plates are not readily obtainable, 
the Soys and corn may be mixed together, but only 
a small quantity should be put in seed bags at one 
time. If large amounts of the mixture are put in 
at once, the Soys, being smaller, work down to the 
bottom of the seed bags, causing uneven planting. 
Another method is to drill the corn in and then fol¬ 
low with Soy beans, readjusting the planter for 
beans. This is a very good method as the beans 
are not put in so deep as when put in with the 
corn. If grain drill is used the mixture can be put 
in at one operation by installing partitions in feed 
box, separating corn from Soys and then run the 
rubber or steel hose into the same drill tooth. Many 
farmers practice the method of growing Soys sepa¬ 
rately from the corn and at silo filling time run two 
or three loads of corn into the silo and then a load 
of Soys. The very particular feeders load corn and 
Soys at the cutter box, mixing the two crops as 
they run through the cutter. 
SOY BEAN VARIETIES.—Care should be exer¬ 
cised in selection of the seed, being 
particularly careful that only good re¬ 
liable seed of the proper variety is 
used. There are a large number of 
varieties of Soy beans, and in the past 
they have been so misrepresented as to 
cause failure where otherwise the 
grower would have been successful. 
Some varieties are called early, where¬ 
as in reality they are late maturing, 
nid not well adapted to northern con¬ 
ditions. The best varieties for gen¬ 
eral use in the North are the Manchu, 
Hollybrook and Wilson. The Manchu 
from a standpoint of manner of 
growth, maturity and yield is very 
superior, except for such warmer sec¬ 
tions as are found in Hudson River 
Valley or Chautauqua County, where 
some of the later varieties, such as 
Wilson, Hollybrook or Midwest may 
yield a little more hay. For a safe 
secure Soy bean hay crop or for silage 
I would rather take my chances with 
the Manchu, Ito San or Black Eye¬ 
brow. The Medium Green is a well- 
known variety that is very good, but it really is no 
better than the above three, and because the seed 
shatters badly the price for Medium Green seed is 
quite a bit higher. 
DIFFERING CHARACTERS—Manchu matures 
in about 105 to 110 days, plants being quite stout, 
standing erect, making an easy crop to harvest. Va¬ 
riety very good for hay and for northern territories; 
excellent to plant with corn. Ito San is a widely 
grown commercial variety, often misnamed. Ma¬ 
tures a few days earlier than the Manchu. Plants 
are erect and stout, but yields usually not quite 
equal to Manchu. Seed often sells about 50 cents 
per bushel less than the Manchu. Black Eyebrow 
matures in about 100 to 105 days; plants not quite 
as tall as Ito San and Manchu. Crop well adapted 
to northern conditions, as it matures a little earlier. 
Midwest matures in about 115 days; grows a little 
taller than the above-named varieties. A good va¬ 
riety of bean to plant with corn for silage, 
but the yield of hay as a rule is not quite as good 
as Ito San and Manchu. Hollybrook is a late ma¬ 
turing variety, requiring 120 to 135 days to ripen. 
Best adapted to warmer territories, but can be 
easily harvested with corn. Wilson is similar to 
the Hollybrook in maturity and adaptation. Much 
of this seed is grown in New Jersey and brings a 
higher price than the Hollybrook or Midwest. Mam¬ 
moth is a standard commercial variety, which is 
quite late in maturity, requiring about 145 days. 
The plants are somewhat coarse, best -adapted to 
English Vegetable Marrow Squash. Fig. 333 
such territories as Virginia and Tennessee. Should 
not be used in the North as other varieties are su¬ 
perior. Medium Green is an old variety. Hay is 
very green in color but inclined to be coarse. Does 
not usually yield as well as Ito San or Manchu. 
The following varieties are quite widely used in 
Illinois and Iowa, but are not so good for New 
York or surrounding territories: Mongol, Ebony, 
Jet, Medium Yellow, Virginia and Chestnut, a. l. r. 
Feeding Fat Into Milk 
A man here makes the claim that his cows test 7 per 
cent butterfat. I do not believe it, and told him so. I 
think I have a good cow and test was 5 per cent. He 
says he got the big test by feeding the balanced ration 
plus drugs he added, and that he could take any cow 
and feed butterfat into her milk. Would you tell us 
what you think of it? g. t. j. 
Virginia. 
HE only way to settle‘such a case would be to 
have some disinterested party come and milk 
the cow and then have the milk tested by some scien¬ 
tific man who knows just how to do it. There are 
cases on record where for a short time cows have 
given milk containing more than 7 per cent. Some 
of them have kept up such a record for a consider¬ 
able time, but we should not take any man’s word 
for it until it had been demonstrated scientifically. 
If this man can increase the butterfat in milk by 
feeding in a special way or by giving drugs, he has 
a fortune within his grasp, for that is what thou¬ 
sands of dairymen have been hunting for during the 
past years, and any man who can do that success¬ 
fully is not only a wonder, but he will be a million¬ 
aire if he handles his secret right. 
Charlie Cole, the man who tested the Holstein 
cows some years ago and got a great record for 
them, claimed that he could do that very thing, and 
he beat the world at it until it was found that he 
carried a rubber bag under his jacket and as he 
milked the cow, squirted cream in from this bag 
and thus got a tremendous percentage of fat. That 
discovery exploded the Charlie Cole theory and ex¬ 
ploded some big fat records, at the same time. If this 
man thinks he has discovered the secret it is likely 
that if he will come up to the front, a fair test can 
be given him. We are interested in this matter, as 
we are in every effort to improve dairy conditions, 
and if this man wants to put his theory to a test 
so that there will be no comeback one way or the 
other, we will offer our services to help get him a 
chance to show what he can do, but we think he 
ought to stop claiming such great things until his 
method has been tested scientifically. 
How Farmers Invest Surplus Money 
T HE farmer who has any surplus money is al¬ 
most the exception but there are some who al¬ 
ways make money, and we have them in our neigh¬ 
borhood. I have in mind one who bought a few 
large farms before the war, and then sold them in 
boom time arid about doubled them, and consequent¬ 
ly had surplus money. . This man was lured into the 
Dollings Company and lost. He was enticed by big 
promises. 
Another farmer made good money, especially dur¬ 
ing the war, and he invested in more good farms 
after the boom was over. He has a number of boys 
and girls, and they run the farms themselves. They 
still make some money. Quite a few make home 
improvements with their surplus money, but just as 
many are caught in bogus stock investments. 
Personally I like the “home improvement” idea. 
I have installed electricity in our home from an 
electric line over a mile away; put up an automatic 
water system for house and barn; have hot and cold 
water in house, bath, electric washer, ironer, sweep¬ 
er, etc.: have remodeled house with stucco finish 
and tile porch, and- large lawn with shrubbery -and 
evergreens to make our home attractive. We have 
two farms run as one. I have lately purchased two 
small farms with very good houses. One was a 
blacksmith’s home who went to town, and one acre 
of ground; the other was a small farm, 12 acres; 
he died and the son went to the city. These contain 
very good soil and lie right in my two farms, so we 
took fences away and farm with other fields. Both 
are ideally located at main road; mile and half to 
high school in town. One is a frame two-story 
house, seven rooms, in good repair and paint; the 
other is rough stone house or bungalow, seven rooms, 
up-to-date. For the last named I paid $<‘>00, and the 
12-acre farm, $950. Cheap? Yes, very cheap, be¬ 
cause the trend of the young is toward 
the city. 
Now there is a family living in each 
who works for us. We have six men 
every day and often more. We have 
to pay them $2 a day and board. 
These men like to stay on the farm 
rather than go to the city. They say 
the work is easier and when the year 
is over they have more money than in 
the city. We raise about 20 acres po¬ 
tatoes, 15 acres tree fruit, such as 
five acres apples, five acres pears, and 
five acres peaches; one acre aspara¬ 
gus, one acre strawberries, two acres 
cantaloupes. We have a dairy of eight 
cows and sell cream to the ice cream 
man. We raise about 100 hogs a year 
and butcher all Winter, and retail all 
meat in market stall. Our aim is to 
sell everything direct to the consumer 
and get the 100-cent dollar. 
During the Winter we work at the 
wood a good deal, so as to keep all men 
employed. We sell wood and lumber. 
I like to see the country populated and 
improved, and I say if a farmer has any surplus 
money he would much better invest it right at home, 
where he has control of it himself rather than give 
it tq those far away. I think the possibilities are 
great right on the farm. c. R. bashore. 
Pennsylvania. 
Another apple season gone. For the last two years 
Nova Scotian apple growers have had hard times. This 
year is better in results than last. We ship about 
1,000,000 barrels each year to the English markets, and 
suffer from the apples dumped in from the Pacific coast. 
Last November prices went down to a net of $1.50 a 
barrel for a good long spell. After Christmas the 
United States shippers seemed to slack off and we got 
as high as $3.25 and even $4 net per barrel. Our costs 
run about $2.25 a barrel for packed apples, with all 
expenses included, except rail, ocean and commission 
expenses. Our growers are quite short of ready cash, 
but as most grow other stuff besides apples they can 
hang on for a few years—in hope. I estimate 10 per 
cent each year will drop their good care for their or¬ 
chards, but as we have no San Jose scale, the orchards 
will not be ruined. Farm values have dropped but lit¬ 
tle. although farms are not selling easily. We can keep 
going at these prices for another year or two, but many 
of us find it rather hard sledding. JOHN BUCHANAN. 
Nova Scotia. 
