The Natchitoches enterprise., 1918-11-07
SOY BFiNS REQUIpE
GOOD SLID Dz1
CROP FAILURES MAY BE CHARG-
ED TO POOR SEED OR I'M
PROPER PLANTING.
lNOCULATE THE SEE
Soy Beans May e Grown as Money
Crop or Nay Be Cut
For Eay.

The soy bean has not been grown
in Louisiana to tie extent that its NOR
its as an agricultural plant would jus
tify 1t is fairly woll known to all,
and the fact thai 50 many have tried
it and failed or else only halfway
succeeded in grc".0g 1t successfully
probably accounts 15- its lack Of p0pl-
Iarity a. a farm crop.
Getting a stand Of the beans has
been the greatest obstacle to success
in growing the s1y beam" says ". z.
Perkins, Director o. Extension, Louis
lana State University. "The failure
to secure a stand can probably be A.
tributed to orc o. two things. poor
seed or fmnroper PLANTING The FIST
can easily be avoided by purchasing
seed that have h."n tested for ger
minati0n. The second trouble is gel
orally due to poorly prepared seed bel
or planting TOO deep, It is a crop That
requires better PR aration Of the soil
and more care in the planting than
the average farrscr is in the habit Of
giving to his farm crops. The soil
should be well pulvcriZed, and there
should be abundGaoo Of moisture pos
cnt without beinr 100 wet when the
planting is done. One can wen afford
to wait for such condition in the soil
because the planting season is long
running from April Is to July / or
later. The seed should be covered not
less than one inch nor more than one
and one-half inches deep. This is inl-
portant.
"Tha question arises as to what tho
crop is good for. First, it could be
considered a money crop. The seed
/ ere very similar in composition to col
| ton seed, weigh about twice as much
! to the bushel, and are sought after by
| the oil mills for the oil they contain
| and the feed cake that is obtained
/ after the oil is forced out. They
should bring about twice as much PEI
bushel as cotton seed or about the
eame per ton. A crop on medium grade
land should produce about 20 bushels
per acre. The talks after threshing
make a good grade of roughage Cor
cattle.
There are some difficulties encOun-
tered in harvesting the soy bean
crop: There is generally a lack OF
machinery for harvesting and thresl
ing and considerable loss from the
popping of the seed pods in the field
While it is a splendid crop for the
purpose Just mentioned we believe
that the really important place Of the
SOY bean in Louisiana is for the max
ing of hay.
1.-The hill and cut over pine sections
Of the state should use soy beans as
4 substitute for alfalfa which will not
succeed in these sections. The soy
bean will make a hay fully as palatable
ard nutritious as alfalfa. 1t comes 10
maturity about the fist Of September
when the weather is usually good for
the harvesting of hay. 1t can be saved
much better and more economically
than cowpeas; it VIII make so per
cent more hay or the same area and
grade Of land than cowpeas, and, we
believe, a better nay. Cultivation for
hay is practically the same as for
grain. Plant in drills two and one
| half to three and one-haf feet apart
SO that the plants will not lap in the
row. Have plant every two or three
inches in drill and harvest when the
seed pods are full, but before the 70
liage begins to show signs of ripen-
ing. Cut with moving machine and
! throw into narrow tall cocks while still
green, allow to stand thus four to sey-
| en- days and then put in barn or stack.
"All kinds of stock are very fond Of
IT. Try it as a hay plant and be con-
vinced Use the Mammoth Yellow or
Biloxi varieties. Inoculate the seed
ard plant about one-half bushel to the
acre"