The Covington leader. (Covington, Tenn.) 18??-current, 1917-04-26
s0Y BEANs

ia Tie absence Of clover, plant soy
beans da the best iegume substitute
lof hay, provided yOu know the habits
Of 1he crop and viii cater to it. just
nov eea is very high il price Il ~
likely To remain 50 because q Ia
value as food, feed and OIL Flant
enough Cd have hay TO feed seed "
plant and to sen. One ought 70 raise
TO d 20 bushels to the acre. There is
plenty Of time 10 prepare the land
after corn is planted, but get your
seed now.
Mammoth yellow seed is the only
kind On The market this year IN con-
siderable quantities at reasonable
prices. Use it for your main crop.
Mammoth Yellow, when inoculated,
succeeds in any soil that is good for
corn, but it can be grown on soils too
low In fertility, too dry too wet, or
too sandy for corn In rare instances
IL grows as high as corn when planted
in the same row on badly worn soils
which have received phosphate.
Use 200 to 300 pounds of basic Stag
or acid phosphate on every acre OF
beans, II you. have found that other
crops respond to phosphate on your
farm Drill it in the row under the
beans at the time Of planting. Lime
or ashes would help decidedly Manure
would, too, but it is more needed on
your corn or grass, If the beans are
inoculated, they will obtain their nj
trogen from the air.
If your field has not grown soy
beans before, inoculate the soil by
scattering on each acre 800 pounds Of
dilt from an old soy bean field Har-
row. it in at once "A small amount Of
the dirt, free from rocks, may be
drilled in with'the fertilizer. Another
method is to wet the seeds with a So
luton Of | pound Of glue to 2h call
Ions Of water, and then sprinkle them
with inoeulated soil and stir them
thoroughly Dry them in the shade
before sowing.
Prepare the soil by discing before
and after breaking, just as the best
farmars do for corn. But don't plant
beans SO deep as most farmers do cow
peas; # you do, you will likely have
poor stand or none at all, because
beans must be planted uniformly shall
low, or they will never force them
selves through the sol crust. Such
planting is impossible upon loose clod-
DIV soil. Firm it with clod crusher
or plank drag and follow with har-
row If the soil is too loose at planting
time.
Beans do not fight weeds as we'll as
peas do On weedy soils (and most
soils are weedy), beans should be
planted in rows and cultivated. They
always make more seed and generally !
more hay in the cultivated row than
when sown solid Drilling or broad I
casting produces hay of finer tex
ture and saves labor, but requires /
to ! rs bushels of seed per acre, where |
"a bushel is sufficient when II to IS (
inch rows are used,
A grain drill, to which marker
may be attached is about the best I
seeder. The proper width of row is
obtained by stopping up the feed cups
not needed. With a little experience
most drills may be adjusted to SOW
~ pounds of beans to the acre in rows
2I, 28s 0r 3D. inches apart For 2Srineh
rows and 30 pounds Of beans 70 the
acre, set the drill to SOW OF 6 pecks
Of oats. For the same amount of beans
to the acre IN 35-inch rows, try the g.
peck mark for oats.
Beans planted any time in May or
June will mature. Late planting gives
smaller yields, but nothing is gained
by planting until after the soil is
thoroughly warm Generally, from
early to late May is a good time Use
only seed produced the previous sea-
son.
Plant | inch deep and cover with
unpacked soil The beans should be
allowed to come Up before the crust
hardens. More failures are due to
deep uneven planting than any other
one thing. 4
Like corn, young beans may be
cross cultivated with a light harrow
on weeder, if Judgment is exercised.
Later cultivation should be shallow
and level, given with the ordinary i'm
plements used for corn. The 14-tooth /
harrow, and 5-plow cultivator are sat
isfactory, but a 2-horse cultivator
saves lapQl.
For hay, cut when the first pods
are half grown. Some form Of hay
rack should be provided and most Of
the curing should take place in the
shock.
For seed, cut when the first leaves
begin to fall and the pods turn yellow. |
IL they are too ripe there will be a
great loss from SCATTERING. The binder /
Is the best machine for harvesting, if
the plants are high enough; otherwise {
d mower is necessary. The bound |
bundles should be shocked similar to
small grain and should be allowed to t
cure sufficiently for stacking. If the
mower is used, they should be raked 3
before there is danger Of SCATTERING t
ind then shocked on racks. In small
amounts the plants may be gathered
By hand and the beans shattered out {
By striking over Stats nailed in a S
tight wagon bed or a large box on a I
sled. They may also be threshed with |
I common wheat thresher when the 1
cylinder speed ii reduced and when I
smooth concaves are used or teeth {
removed. -. G. McAmis, Specialist in i
A gronomy. Division Of Extension. c