FERTILIZERS. 



Velvet beau makes its best growth on the lighter, sandy soils. While 

 capable of increasing the amount of nitrogen it requires a liberal dress- 

 ing of i)hosplioric acid and potash in the form of superpliosphates and 

 muriate or sulphate of potash. It pays to feed the crop well because 

 on rich ground the gain of nitrogen through the increased crop of vines 

 is more than proportionate to the added cost of the potash and phos- 

 phoric acid. 



YIELD. 



The yields of hay are about the same as for the best varieties of cow- 

 peas on similar soils. The plant grows looser and bulkier and looks as 

 though it would yield twice as much hay as the cowpea, but experi- 



Fi(i. 2.— Velvet bean, showing leaves, flowers, aud young pods. Grown in grass garden, Department 

 of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 



ments conducted at the Alabama Experiment Station prove that the 

 superiority in this regard is only apparent. The reported yields range 

 from 2 to 4 tons of hay per acre, or m<n-e in Florida, where two or three 

 cuttings are made during one season. Farther uorth the crop has not the 

 same recuperative ability and can only be cut once. The yield of seed 

 amounts to from 20 to 25 or 28 bushels per acre, about the same as for 

 the most prolific varieties of cowpeas. 



