The farmer and mechanic., 1915-08-31

producers and consumers OF soy Deans
i'm the world In this country, par
ticularly so in the South, North Car
olina is the State in which this crop |
is most generally grown. IhousandS
of bushels are shipped from this
state TO other parts of the country
each year They grow from the sea-
shore to the western boundary, but at
the present time their growth IN
more or less intensive way Is connned
largely to the northeastern counties
OF the State In field trials that have
been made by the Division OF Agron-
omy i'm different parts Of the State
il has been found that this crop not
only makes satisfactory growth
throughout the eastern part OF the
State but also in the mountain and
Piedmont sections. In the upper
Piedmont and mountains it has been
found by repeated trials as we'll as
by the farmers themselves that the
soy bean generally does better than
do cowpeas as a summer growing
legume The chief reason for this is
that they soy bean is much harder
than the cowpea and will continue
growing much later in the fall than
will the pea. Again, the plants will
stand a light frost in the fall with
out injury while the cOwpea will stop
growing when the nights become cool
and will be killed by the first light
frost.
Suitable Varieties.
OF the two hundred or more varie-
ties that have been introduced into
this country from Japan, China, Man
cvhuria and India, not more than
dozen are commonly grown. In this
State, it has been found that where
the growing season is short, as is the
case in the upper Piedmont and noun
tain sections, early maturing var1e-
6 t1,n
son and Tar Heel generally do best.
While in the eastern portions of the
State, Mammoth Yellow, Haberlandt,
and Hollybrook are good yielders.
In any portion of the State, for hay
production, if the seeding is made
early enough, the Mammoth Yellow
and Haberlandt varieties are particu-
larly well adapted. Serious faults OF
many Of the varieties are that they
ripen unevenly and the pods burst
open when ripe and scatter the seed
on the ground These qualities will
have to be chiefly overcome by the
skilled plant breeder.
Selecting and Preparing the Soil
Although this crop will grow on {
great variety Of soils, it Goes it's bes
growth generally on mellow, fertile
loans and clays. Soy beans do fairly
well on sandy soils, especially those
containing lime. Swampy and peat!
soils after being drained and limet
usually produce we'll The more fav
opment Of the plant will be ordinarily
while the yield Of seed frequently il
comparatively small, but on poor soil
the production of forage will be re
latively small in comparison with tn
seed. This is true, to cOnsiderabl
plants. For their best development
they require a well drained soil, bu
are able to stand more water in tn
soil than either corn or cowpeas afte
they have begun to grow. Under n
circumstances, however, should tn
seed be sown on soil which is saturat
ed with water for a greater portio
OF the year, nor on close or other soil
that are inclined to bake. Soy bean
will grow on soils too poor to grov
the clovers but will not generally d
as well on these soils as will cowpea
thorough preparation Of the soils
essential for best results. Breaking c
the land should be deep and shoul
be Followed by thorough disking {
narrowing The seed bed should b
fairly compact underneath witho,
being hard and the surface three {
four inches should be loose and me
low. All clods should be crushed an
weeds and grass destroyed
InOculatiOn Essential.
Soy beans like other legumes al
characterized by their ability
take free nitrogen from the air, if tt
soil is inoculated with the prop,
bacteria for this crop. In growir
soy beans on land for the first tim
especially in a locality where 81
beans have not been grown previou
ly, 1t will usually pay to inoculate IL
soil by one of the methods general
recommended, either using from {
inoculated field or one of the cor
mercial cultures, The latte: may nc
be secured at very reasonable price
In some parts of the state, ! wou
say, however, that the bacteria su
able for inoculating this crop seem
be quite widely distributed in the SO
When soy beans are planted on u
inoculated soil. the second year.
will usually be found that nodu]
are present on the roots in lar
numbers by natural inoculation. E