The Hartford republican., 1917-09-07

Harvesting sey Beans For Grain.
Washington, ID. C.-For the infor-
nation of farmers who are begin
ming to grow soy beans for grain
rathen than for hay, and who are un-
familiar with the handling of the
plants under the former conditions,
the United States Department of Ag-
riculture will shortly publish Farm
ers' Bulletin, Harvesting Soy
Beans for Seed" The demand for
these seeds for use in the production
of oil, feed cake, and other bean
products is rapidly increasing and
the farmers of the United States
are preparing to meet this de-
mand.
The character of growth, the uni
form maturing habits and the heavy
seed yields of the soy beans. says
the bulletin, contribute to the ease
of harvesting and recommend the
plants for seed productip. The
many disadvantages which attend
the harvesting of cowpeas for seed
are not common to the soy bean.
When grown for grain alone the
shattering of the pods Of the soy
bean is a serious fault and inexperi-
enced growers are likely to sustain
a heavy loss Of seed through lack of
knowledge and improper handling
of the soy-bean plant. The shat
tering varies with the varieties of
the bean. 1t is well, however, with
most varieties to give special atten-
ton as maturity approaches to pre-
vent serious losses from this cause.
Time Of Harvesting.
In general, the best time to har-
vest, except where special bean har-
yesters are used lis when about three
fourths of the leaves have fallen
and most of the pods have turned
color. If cut at an earlier stage the
plants are difficult to cure properly,
and the yield will be lessened ma
terially on account of the immature
grain. On the other hand, if the
plants are allowed to become too
rige the pods will shatter before be-
ing cut, and much seed will be lost.
When special harvesters are used TO
gather the seed, the plants must
reach full maturity to obtain the best
results.
Methods of Harvesting.
Various methods of harvesting the
crop are in use in different sections
where the soy bean is grown large
Iy for seed production. The crop
may be cut with ordinary machines,
eelf-rake reapers, self binders, or
even with scythes, corn knives, or
siekles. The beans also may be har-
vested with a special bean harvest
or which gathers the grain from the
Etanding plants. .~...-s '-----
When the plants are cut before
maturity they are cured in shocks
and allowed to remain in the feld
until a convenient time for thresh-
ing. If thoroughly dry when they
may be housed and threshed later.
.,s Thrashing.
Thrashing may be done with an
ordinary grain separator, but if this
machine is used it must be altered
TO prevent the cracking OF
the. beans. In some cases a special
set of thin concaves is used for
thIashing beans and in other in
stances some of the concaves are re-
moved. Good judgment on the pa:t ,
Irf the thrasherman will enable him
to adjust the ordinary separator so
that the beans may be thrashed with
little splitting. Special pea and bean .
Feparators are ON the market and
their use may be advisable when .
large acreages of the beans are to
be handled. If thoroughly dry, soy
beans can be thrashed with fail. II
only a small acreage is to be thrash
ed-an acre or so-this method is
practicable and economical. In
few sections a corn shredder has been
used to advantage in thrashing beans.
II properly cured and dried out, the
beans shell out very readily with such
a machine.
The straw obtained from thrash
ing soy beans for seed is a valuable
feed for all kinds of stock. In many
sections the straw is baled at the
time OF trashing and sold to livery
men, dairymen, and stock feeders.
Storage of Seed.
As soy-bean seed spOils rather cas-
lily if not properly handled, care
should be exercised in curing and
storing. After the beans are thrash
ed they should be watched careful
ly TO avoid heating and molding.
When thoroughly dry there is no
such danger. The best plan, per-
haps, is TO spread the seeds out on
A., g,,,,,liatalV a flor tb pa = n ing.