Vol. VII. No. 17i>, 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



375 



COWPEAS AND VELVET BEANS FOR 



GREEN MANURING. 



The attention of West Indian planters has more 

 than once been drawn bv means of notes or short 

 articles in the Agricaltaral Nea-K, to tlie value of tiie 

 cowpea crop for green manurial purj)oses, but it may 

 be worth while to give a few more particulars on the 

 subject, that have been abstracted from the pages of 

 Professor Earle's book ' SoutJwrn Agriculfarv,' which 

 was reviewed in the last issue of this journal : — 



In considering the crops .suitahlc for green manuring, 

 Professor Earle lays special stress on the value of the cowpea 

 and the velvet- bean.- The cowpea is referred to as the most 

 important leguninous crop for use in the Southern States. 

 It is a rank-growing annual, completing its growth in about 

 three months. Behig of tropibil origin, it delights in hot 

 weathei' and does not succeed well during the cooler months. 

 Its short growing season makes it ]iossilile to grow it as a nian- 

 luial crop during the limited period when the ground is 

 unoccupied, jirevious to iilanting sugar-cane, for instance. It 

 is most widely used in the Southern States, however, to 

 plant between the rows of corn at the tin)e when the last 

 cultivation is being given to this crop. Louisiana planters 

 are also reconuneudtd to sr>w crops Ijetweeu the rows of 

 sugar-cane at the beginning of the rainy .season. It is doubt- 

 ful, however, if such a practice can be recommended on the 

 thin soils of f^arbados and sonve other of the West Indian 

 Islands, especially in seasons which are deficient in rainfall. 

 The peas are frequently sown broadcast at the rate of from 

 ;i pecks to 3 bushels of seed per acre. When planted in 

 drills, however, about 3 feet apart, only about one-half of 

 such seed is required. 



Cowpeas make a rank gro^vth even' on very poor lands 

 if suiijilied with a manure of potash and phosphoric acid. 

 As they belong to the Leguminosae they have the ]jower of 

 as.similating nitrogen from the atmo.sphere, and the good 

 results obtained in this way have been very noticeable. For 

 this reason the crop is frequently used to build up and enrich 

 worn out soils in the Southern States of America. The Whip- 

 poor-will or Speckleil cowpea is especially mentioned as an 

 early maturing variety which is particularly useful when land 

 can be occupied only for a short time. The Iron cowpea 

 Droduces a large amount of vine and leaves, and is mentioned 

 as being suitable for West Indian conditions. 



In reference to the velvet beau. Professor Earle states that 

 in districts where it succeeds well, this must be considered as 

 a formidable competitor with the cowpea for first place as 

 a soil improvement cro[>. It cannot, however, be used intercul- 

 turally among other crops as can the cowpeas, but must 

 occupy the ground alone. When land can be given up to 

 a soil-improving crop for from four to five months during the 

 summer, no other crop will produce so satisfactory results 

 in the way of securing nitrogen, smothering foul weeds, and 

 adding humus to the soil. It thus adapts itself perfectly to 

 the needs of winter truck growers in Southern Florida and the 

 tropics, and for use in Cuban tobacco fields, since in Cuba, 

 tobacco is strictly a winter (dry season) crop and the laud, as 

 a rule, lies idle during the summer. 



It is also an invaluable jjlant in ])reparing the land for 

 [lernianent crops like fruit orchards oi- sugar-cane. 



What clover is to agriculture of the North and the cow- 

 yea is to the cotton belt, the velvet bean is destined to be 

 for the tropics, where the need for a much greater use of 

 •soil-improving plants is .so imperative. 



Like the cowpea, velvet beans may be sown broadcast or 

 planted in drills : in nearly all cases the latter is |ireferable, 

 since one or two cultivations give them a chance to get ahead 

 of weeds and grass. When they once begin to run, no further 

 attention is needed, since they (piickly climb up, and by their 

 weight bend over and drag down, any chance weed that 

 happens to s[iring u}) among them. 



When green, velvet bean vines are not at first particu- 

 larly relished by stock, but a taste is soon acquired for 

 them ; the partially ripened pods however, furnish very 

 rich pasturage. The vines, if cut and cured into hay, are 

 eaten readily and are very nutritious, but they are so long 

 and tangled that they are difficult to cut and handle. 



INDIAN AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT. 



The Director of Agriculture. Bombay, (Mr Henry 

 S.' Lawrence), in the course of a lengthy paper, entitled 

 ' Indian Agriculture ' which was reprinted in the 

 Trapictd Ayr'icuUii rist (February, March, and April 

 last) gives an account of the establishment, organiza- 

 tion, and work of the De[)artment of Agriculture for 

 India. This paper, from which the following details as 

 to the system of organization, etc, have been abstracted, 

 forms an interesting record of the many and useful 

 lines of activity of the Department : — 



A Department of Agriculture was first established in 

 India in 1870, but was clo.sed nine years later, on account 

 of financial pressure. In 1896, however, the Department was 

 re-established, and at the commencement, valuable work was 

 done in the prelimi.uiry study of agricultural conditions in 

 India, compilation of agricultural statistics, etc. In 1902, 

 a bndv of ^cientitic workers was first appointed iji connexif^n 

 with the l)e[iartment. 



At the head of the work is the Insi)ector-rieneral of Agri- 

 culture in India, who.se functions are to advise the (.iovernment 

 on all agricultural questions, to superintend the work of the 

 Research Institute that has been established at Fusa in 

 Bengal, and to ob.serve, and, as far as possible co-ordinate, 

 the operations of the several provincial departments. 



The Research Institute at Pusa, a Station at which much 

 valuable work is being <lone, is described as being primarily 

 comiected with ' the solution of the fundamental problems of 

 tropical agriculture. ' The staff com jnises European -scientists 

 in agricultural chemistry, botany, entomology, mycology, 

 horticulture, and plant physiology, and a number of native 

 as.sistants in the.se sciences. 



There exists also a sub-Department of Agriculture for 

 each Province, in charge of a Director, whose duty it is to 

 adminster the work, and interpret its teaching and results to 

 landowners and cultivators. The Director also advises the 

 provincial Governn;ent on agricultural matters. 



Agricultural Colleges have now been establi.shed in 

 practically every province of India. The educational work of 

 these in.stitutions is subject to the supervision of the Direc- 

 tois of Agriculture, while the executive work of the various 

 Experiment Stations in each province is supervi.sed by the 

 De|iuty-Director of Agriculture — a European agricultural 

 [■xi)ert. The programme of agricultural experiments is drawn 

 up by this ofticer in consultation with the Professor at the 

 f'olleoe, and is subjected to criti(-ism by the Board of Agri- 

 culture of India before being put into operation. 



It will be seen therefore, that the Indian Agri- 

 cultural Department is certainly;, _\\;.orking under a good 

 system of organization. 



