The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1914-04-30


year for inoculation.
When soy beans are cut at the
proper stage and properly cured, the
hay is excellent and equal TO or
better than alfalfa for dairy cows.
The mammoth and Ito San are the
chief soy beans for hay, as they
grow to a greater height and have
finer stems and a greater abundance
OF leaves than the other varieties.
For hay, soy beans should be cut
when about half the buds are full
grown, but before the pods begin
to ripen. Another rule to follow is,
cut when the top leaves begin TO
turn yellow. At this stage OF
growth the largest yield and at the
same time good quality Of hay will
be secured. II cut earlier than this
the total yield will not be as large
and the difficulty Of curing much
greater. II cut later, the stems lose
their succulency. become woody.
tough. and unpalata BILE for the stock.
When possible. the planting Of soy
beans should be done early enough
SO that the crop can be cut for hay
in September Do not cut until
Tic uSW IL OAi Vi a A@oA AAAe.
Let the plants lie in the swath until
the leaves become well wilted, but
be careful to rake before the leaves
become brittle. After they are
raked into windrows. let the hay
lie out for a day or two, depending
ON the weather, and then put into
cocks. From three to five days of
good weather are required to make
good soy bean hay. Great care
must be exercised to prevent the
leaves from falling off, for they are
the most valuable part of the hay.
except the pods. Yields of from
one to four tons per acre are Sc
cured, the average being about two
to three tons.
Pasturing soy beans is especially
to be recommended when weather
conditions for harvesting are bad,
or labor is scarce, and when they
are grown particularly for soil i'm
provement. Not only is the crop
profita BILE itself when pastured, but
the manure is returned to the soil.
More experimenting has been done
with pasturing hogs than any other
kind OF live stock. Dairy cattle da
exceedingly well when pastured on
them, but it gives the milk bad
flavor and cannot be recommended
as a dairy pasture. Hogs get the
full benefit of the beans. While cat
tie tramp down and waste good
part of the plants. Hogs can be
turned onto a soy bean field when
the pods are very small. They will
then only eat the leaves until the
pods are vii filled out and thus get
the full benefit of the pasture.
Pork can be produced on about one
half the amount OF corn by using
soy beans that it will take without
any pasture.
Soy beans are very well adapted
to short rotations, as they can be
used to take part of season
following some small grain crop or
to take an entire season. When a
whole season is devoted to soy beans
they may take any place in rota-
tion system where corn is used.
Soy beans hold just about an equal
place with cowpeas as legume for
benefiting the soil. when used in a
rotation. When soy beans are fer
tilized for increased production, q
mixture of $50 to 500 lbs. of acid
phosphate and muriate of potash. is
used per acre. Most soils do not
need fertilizing for good crop of
soy beans.
Soy bean meal, made from grind
ing the beans, has been found 10
be superior TO cottonseed meal when
fed in the same ration at the same
rate to dairy cows. Experiments in
dicate that cows will give more milk
richer in bulterfat and milk that
will make superior quality OF
butter, from soy bean meal than
from cottonseed meal. When the
beans are thrashed for use as meal,
the stover that is left makes IA very
palatable feed in a ration against
cottonseed meal and corn stover,
the cows gave II per cent more
butterfat than the COWS that were
fed the cottonseed meal ration.
Ii is doubtful, even with the results
that have been produced. if it is
practical to feed soy bean meal as
long as the exceedingly high price
for the beans as seed keeps up, but
il is "A thing that will in time cer-
tainly become practical and profit
able. In comparison of soy bean
hay and alfalfa. the soy bean hay
proved superior for feeding to alfal-
ia. This is doubtless the best way
to feed the crop, as it saves work
and cost of threshing and grinding
the grain.
For intensive farming the soy
bean is probably the best annual
legume TO grow where it thrives
we'll. Whether used for hay, grain,
straw. or ensilage, it is very valuable
To live stock, as soy been hay is
superior in feeding value to alfalfa
and yields from to 3 tons per
acre. Harvesting should be done
when the leaves first begin TO turn
yellow, as the quality of the straw
deteriorates after this time, and the
yield of seed is practically as great
as at any other time. From 90 10
80 bushel of grain and one and a
half to two tons of straw is not
an uncommon crop.
When soy beans are grown Tor
seed, ii is best to wait till all the
leaves have fallen before harvesting
in order to get a good crop Of seed
beans. Stock relish the straw even
when 1t has been cut after all the