Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1892-10-28
New Forage Plant.


Of it Prof. Georgeson says: We are
just now August 24th) harvesting Il
portion of tie Soy bean crop and putt
ing it i'll Il small silo with a view to
studying its behavior and feeding value
as silage later on. We have four vlrie-
ties. OF these two are advanced to-
wards maturity that the leaves have
begun to fail, while the other two are
later, tue seeds being only about haif
grown. They are grown III rows thir-
ty-two inches apart but at this stage
the plants I'LL out the space between
the rows almost completely. The soil
is q loan of only fair quality, mas not
been manfred and has a pronounced
slope to the South. The yield OF me
green piants Is about tive and one-thlrd
tons per acre. The crop was planted
May % and n and this growth has
therefore been made i'll exactly three
months. lis feeding value Is OF the
best 1T compares favorably with
clover and alfalfa i'll nutritlve quail
Ties, and the ripe beans are only excel
ed by oil meal. Cattle and nugs eat
all parts of the plant greediiy; even
the dry bean straw, thrown into the
yard after the beans were thresAed
out, was all eaten by the cattle. But
perhaps the quality which viii be most
highly appreciated by Kansas farmers
is its
At no time since we began to grow this
plant in 1890 has it suffered from the
dry weather, even the very severe
lrouth OF that year failed to affect it
we Which possesses all these qualities;
which will go through our trying
drought unscathed; whose nutritive
qualities rank with the very best;
which freely eaten by stock, which
viii in three months produce five and
one-third tons OF green feed, or about
three tons of hay to the acre of IN
manured land, and which then can be
cleared Off in time for wheat and will
leave the ground III excellent shape
for the drill without blowing? This is
what the Soy bean will do. L know
of no other plant of which the same
can be said. When these qualities be
come known it must forge it's way to
the front and take a leading place
among our fodder plants. This is the
conclusion | have come to after grow
ing it three years here at the college.
! would be glad to get the opinion of
those who have tried the Soy bean this
year, especially in places where drouth
was felt severely, and l ask these who
received seed beans from the Station
last Winter, to kindly write me their
opinion of this promising fodder plant,
together with the culture it has re-
ceived
During the season Of 1891 and 1892
the Ohio Experiment station has been
investigating the food of the robin.
The robin has become SO troublesome
to berry growers in some sections that
the question has been raised, docs he
do more good than harm, or vice
versa" Investigations, more or less
extended, carried on elsewhere have
left the question undecided, nor was it
hoped that the question might be settled
once for ALL as it is known that the
robin is somewhat changeable in his
! diet usually eating that which comes
most directly in his way. When ber-
rieS are abundant he lives on them al
most exclusively, and when nothing
else offers he can subsist upon insects
and various kinds of seeds. For eX-
/ ample, the first robins that were shot
early i'll March We're found to have
eaten but little else than asparagus
berries, which We're abundant on the
station grounds and in good condition.
In April. after the ground had thawed
and it became possible for the robins
to get such food, the larvae of several
species Of insects were found in their
stomachs. In June insect food was
partially given up for berries, and in
July but little else besides berries was
taken Later in the season the pro-
portion of insect food became higher
again. This shows that the robin takes
! the food which is most convenient and
plentiful. although he seems to prefer
fruit when it is to be had. Two hun
I dred and one robins were shot and
! their stomachs examined during the
! two seasons. and more than half Of
/ the insect and other food found to have
+ nGtl tstheH ~ lueLn was btAtASlil,
! less than one-fourth were injurious in
/ sects, while the remainder are classed
] as neutral, i. e.. are not known to do
| either good or harm.
! So far as numbers are concerned, the
j robin seems to take more things that
/ are useful to mankind than of those
that do Us harm This does not give
| ground for condemning the robin al
| together as some feel like doing, nor
does it show him to be so useful rs
! many have thought him to be. The
+ trouble is just here; the law protects
the robin and the fruit grower is liable
] if he seeks to defend himself with a
i shot gun, and yet he has the bill to
j pay for the good that the robin does
for the general public The berry
| grower has much to complain of
! against the robin. and but very little
to thank him for; while those who do
/! not grow fruit have reason to regard