better crop to sow in orchards for green manure because it is not, 

 like the velvet bean, a climber, and does not have to be kept out of 

 the trees. 



This plant is one of the hosts of the root knot {Heterodora radi- 

 cola). Professor Rolfs states that the " cowpea is frequently 

 attacked, the velvet bean occasionally, and the beggar weed rarely." 

 The nodules formed by this worm resemble the tubercles formed by 

 the nitrogen-gathering bacteria but may be distinguished by micro- 

 scopical examination. 



ADAPTABILITY TO LIGHT SOILS. 



Grazing and the production of hay for home consumption or sale 

 are each year becoming more important industries in the Southern 

 States as a natural result of the diversification of crops. Great 

 quantities of hay were formerl}^ shipped South, it being rather a 

 common opinion among Southern farmers and planters that good 

 hay could not be grown. This opinion is, however, no longer held 

 and there are many progressive farmers in the South who have aban- 

 doned the cultivation of low-priced cotton in favor of a more remun- 

 erative hay crop. There is no good reason why the South should 

 not grow every pound of hay that is needed for feeding work stock, 

 nor is there any reason why butter, cheese, and meats should not be 

 produced. Many of the farms in the South are not suited to the 

 growth of timothy and red clover, but there are plenty of good 

 leguminous hay crops and pasture grasses which equal or surpass 

 them in yield or feeding value. Some leguminous forage crop should 

 be grown on every farm. With beggar weed, alfalfa, velvet bean, 

 soy bean, and cowpea, there is a good list to choose from. Beggar 

 weed is, perhaps, the best of these for the lighter, sterile sand}^ soils, 

 including the hammock and pine lands of Florida and the sandy 

 pine lands along the Gulf Coast. 



Jared G. Smith, 



Assistant Agrostologist. 

 Approved : 



James Wilson, 



Secret (iri/ of Agriculture. 



Washington, D. C, May 6\ 1899. 



