Science and Agriculture (The Soybean)

Science and Agriculture (The Soybean)

Rejissyor: ERPI Classroom Films, Inc.. Contents. The cultivation and use of the soybean as an illustration of the relation of science to agriculture and the interrelation of science, agriculture, and industry. Opens with a view of an Oriental farmer beginning to harvest his crop of soybeans. The commentator explains that the soybean has been cultivated for centuries in the Orient. A map showing first China and then the United States is accompanied by the explanation that the soybean has been grown extensively in the United States since 1918. An agronomist is shown examining experimental fields of the soybean as the commentator explains that agriculture experiment stations have played an important part in the development of the use of the soybean in the United States. The agronomist pulls up a plant for examination as the commentator explains that he is interested in the soybean as a means of conserving soil fertility. In the laboratory the agronomist examines the nodules which have formed on the roots of the soybean plant. The commentator explains the function of the bacteria-filled nodules in building the nitrogen content of the soil. The agronomist removes some soybean bacteria from a culture cabinet. The bacteria are mixed with charcoal. Later, the bacteria-charcoal mixture is diluted with water and sprinkled on some soybean seed, thus inoculating the seed and making nodule growth possible on new plants. The agronomist decides to visit a nearby farm where soybeans are being grown. On his way he passes two fields of corn. One field is poor because of improper rotation practice. The other field is good because of the use of the soybean in a good plan of crop rotation. The agronomist stops at the roadside to talk to the farmer's wife, who is gathering edible soybeans. When the agronomist arrives at the soybean field, the farmer is mowing soybean hay. They discuss the proper time for cutting soybeans for this purpose. The farmer says that he has another field of beans which he expects to harvest in about

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