News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1915-03-17
RUTLAND FARMERS ALIVE
Have Had Soils Tested and Will Grow
a New Crop

| new Cr0p
Scientific farming will be carried out
to quite an extent this spring and sum.
mer by the farmers in Rutland County,
according to Henry Jennings, agent of
the Rutland County Farm Bureau. Over
500 tests of soil from different farms in
that vicinity have been made during the
last year, and this gives the farmers a
sound basis on which to begin oper-
atoms. These tests show the farmer
the requirements of the soil on different
sections of his farm.
| In majority of cases it developed
there was demand for sweetening in
the soils in order to grow clover success
fully. This applies, almost without ex-
ception to the upland soils of the county.
The tests also indicated that over ton
and half of ground limestone or its
equivalent was rquired to each acre of
ground on the average farm in order to
produce good results. This the bureau
has succeeded in getting at reduced flo.
ures.
The County Farm Bureau is interested
in another and very important crop, the
soy bean, which mas been very success
fully tried out in this vicinity, especially
when grown with ensiage corn, where
it acts as fertilizer and is also a value
able asset as a food product, not only for
cattle but people.
l. L !
reason to believe that large number of
the farmers in the county were planning
to take up the cultivation of this bean.
Mr.. Jennings said: "In selecting seed
for this crop it is recommended that va
rieties which will grow to a height of
from three to five feet be chosen as it is
believed that larger yields of fodder will
be secured in this way. Varieties which
have succeeded in this county during the
past season are the mammoth yellow or
guelph. either of which gave good yields.
"The planting is done by mixing the
soy seed with the corn and planting an
increased amount Of seed SO as to apply
at the rate of from four to six quarts of
The soy beans per acre.
zone warning which should be sound
ed is the danger of getting mechanical
separation of soy bean seed and corn
which is due to the jar which occurs in
the seed hopper when the seed is planted
In order to avoid this it is desirable to
place but relatively small quantity of
seeds in the planter hopper at one time"
The cost of soy beans is from $3.50 to
So so a bushel which makes the cost of |
the soy bean crop comparatively small |
considering the value of the crop.
Planting and cultivation of this crop |
incurs no additional labor. The value of |
the crop is derived from two sources,
first, the plant has a higher food value
than the same dry weight of corn ensi-
lage; second, because the soy bean be-
longs TO the family of plants which can
obtain a considerable amount of the nj
trogen they use from the atmosphere and |
this assists in enriching the soil where it
grows. This also assists materially in
III tntaining the fertility of the soil.
In answer to the question often asked
as to whether the soy bean will not Irvine
about the corn and choke its growth, it
has been found from actual experience
that the plant is an erect upright grower
and produces no twining tendons which
cling TO anything. This results in no
trouble from the addition of this crop to
the growing corn but means the addition
Of good quantity of feed to the enslage,
which in turn means "a lessening of the
feed bill because of producing
/ larger amount of food en- the home
arm.