The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-04-09
SOFA BEANs-A RENOVATOR AND FOR
AGE CROP COMBINED.

30 GILL ULOlG oOCOAULOH w
in order to induce them to plant
this year. Don't put off until next
year, but buy a few seed this year
anyway. Any farmer in the State
will be richly rewarded by planting
one acre at least.
The sofa bean belongs to the fam
ily of legumes and ranks among d
best of the renOvator5. It grows up
right like cotton and has d long tap
root that goes deep into the ground,
pumping up plant food from the sub
soil. The leaves are broad and thick,
covering the ground with a dense
shade during the hot weather, a con-
ditiOn of itself conducive to nitrlh-
cation. There is a peculiar bacteria
growth in the form of nOdules,
or t~ubercles, that develops on the
roots of the SOFA bean. These no
dulles are colonies consisting OF
myriads of little creatures that are
engaged in fixing the nitrogen in the
soil from the nitrogen of the air. OF
course, the air must circulate through
the soil, hence the Importance of a
loose, porous soil.
The beans grow better when the
bacteria are abundant than other
wise. If they do not form on the
crop, it would be best to inOculate
the soil with this form of bacteria
and it a be easily done by getting
soil from the land on which a good
crop grew the previous year, say one,
gallon to the bushel of seeds. Put
the soil with the seeds and add some
water stir this thoroughly, then
allow to dry. Enough bacteria will
stick to each seed to start a colony
the next year. In getting soil, be
careful to get that from around the
roots of the previous crop. This
process is not necessary in every
case, and only need be resorted to
when the crop makes a poor, sickly
growth on reasonably good land.
Now as to planting, culture and
harvesting-these are easy. Plant
in the spring when danger of frost is
yer. If for seed, SOW in rows three
feet apart and thin out to about g.
inches in the drill. Sow about one
gallon per acre with the corn planter,
planting from one to two inches
deep. Plant on level and cultivate
on level. Use one horse cultivatOr
and cultivate every week or ten days
until the beans are 10 inches high.
Cut for seed when the pods are turn
ing yellow. Cut them down with a
short grass blade and allow to lie one
day at least before piling in cocks, or
hauling to the barn. If they T
spread out on a close barn floor, say
one or two feet deep, and allowed to
dry, the beans can be threshed out
very easily with a fail.
If the crop is planted for hay, then
the rows should be not over 2 feet
apart and the plants thinned out to
an average of 6 inches in the drill.
They should be worked on a level,
as this method allows the use of a
moving machine in harvesting. When
raised for seed, the stalks should be
large, but when raised for hay, it is
better to have the stalks small and
tender. They a be planted with u
wheat drill and treated as any other
hay crop, but this method can be
prOitably employed only in rich
land. If the crop is cut by hand the
short grass blade should be used.
Cut just as the pods form good, and
some yellow leaves appear at the
bottom of the plant.
1t is very important to cut when
dry, or after the dew is off. It is
the outside moisture that Injuries
more than the sap. Cut down one
day and pile up in cocks the next
day after the dew is off, being care
full to put the butt ends to the mid
die. Put about 300 pounds in a cock
and cover with hay caps. If there
are no hay caps on hand, dress off
with crab grass. Thus the rain
water will be prevented from run
ming down into the pile through the
crown. Let the hay remain thus ror
ten day or two weeks AMI il will
then Je ready for the barn. Examine
three days after the piles are made
to see whether the hay is heating, if
50 remove the top, taking off about
one foot Of the har, allowing thepilo
to get sunshine and air, then replace
this lust before the dew fills