Mexico weekly ledger., 1915-02-18
TRY SOY BEAN.

(By Grant Morthland, of Moline, who
won LIST prize Farmers Week on Soy
Beans.)
The rast season has been very try
ing upon any crop. Yet after inquir-
ing over the county and from reports
that have come in over the state /
have found the soybean has accredit-
ed itself very ~favorably. This is com
paratively q new plant in our midst
as it has only been distributed 10 the
various experiment stations about Is
years and after a careful compar-
ison with the cowpea they find it TO be
the superior in a latitude such as ours.
II will stand more cool weather than
the oowpea, IN fact it seems to stand
a great deal more climatic adversely.
The soybeans and cowpea are both
plants that will tolerate a great deal
Of soil acidity, which makes them well
adapted 10 our level prairie soils
where il is difficult TO secure a stand
of clover.
This specie Of plant belong to the
legumo family and have the ability
to take nitrogen out of the air and
store it in It's tops and roots. Recent
experiments have shown the soy bean
to be eycelled only by the alfalfa and
vetches in this respect. 1t is very es-
s%ential, though, that the soys be in
oculated if we expect them to do this,
although it seems TO grow nearly as
vigorous without incubation. But
since the U. S. Department of Agri-
culture will furnish pure cultures free
gratis for this purpose, we certainly
should not neglect this part.
1t seems to me as though the great
est field for the soybean ultimately
will be as a grain producer. The
grain Of the soys is very rich in pro-
TEN and oil. In protein il excells lin
seed bean, and the bean viii average
20 per cent OF oil, which is excellent
in giving the coat Of hair of animals
a fine gloss.
The hay field is pretty well covered
with the alfalfa clovers and cowpeas,
although some of the finer stem var
ieties Of soys, such as the Arlington,
Ebony, and Wilson, make hay Of fine
quality and that is rated a little bet
ter than alfalfa. But when we can
thrash from Is to % bushels Of soys
per acre. which ! feel sure we
can do when we ? are well
stocked with some Of the better
varieties, and have a ton Of straw
that is equal to timothy hay left, ]
am sure that we will see soys taking
the place Of many an acre Of oats in
Audrain County in the near future.
The result Of the past season has
demonstrated that the soy bean and
corn will grow well together and wonn.
quarrel the least bit if planted TO-
gether. Just to show you how we'll
others r impressed along this line,
| a cite you TO a mar in Boone who
bought five bushels of soy Of me last
spring. He put about half Of them in
his com field when he planted his
corn. This eason | have sold him IS
bushels for the same purpose. And
when you consider that one bushel in
this way win plant about IS acres,
you can readily see he is putting out
a large acreage. Another man in
Audrain bought 3 bushels, | believe,
last year to put in the cornfeld. This
season he has purchased Y bushels
for the same purpose.
One thing we must watch in this
practice is not to plant them too deep.
The corn should not be planted over
| IL inch at the most, and better only
an inch deep, as soys do not germin-
are well is planted deep. When plant.
ing alone, just so they are covered is
all that is necessary. For this they
should he planted in rows.AboUt 80 in.
apart is best, using from IS bushels
To 30 bushels of seed per acre accord
ing TO the size Of the beans. They
should be cultivated two or three
times and then they can be harvested