16 



Velvet bean {Mucuna utilis Wall.).— Plats 10-F-lO and 11 were planted May 

 29 with seed from Florida (S. P. I. No. 4333) and plats lO-F-12 and 18 with seed 

 from the Division supply. Germination was fairly prompt, the young plants 

 appearing by June 11, but the stand was poor. By the middle of July the vines 

 were 3 feet long and growing vigorously. On September 20 the plats presented 

 a tangled mass of vines about 3 feet deep and running out for 8 to 10 feet on all 

 sides — a most luxuriant growth. October 16 they were still growing with no 

 sign of flowers. October 25 showed the more tender and exposed foliage killed 

 by the light frosts and early in November all were dead. 



Soy bean {Glycine hispida Maxim.). — Several lots of soy beans were planted 

 June 2. The series of plats on which they were sown was intersected by a wet 

 depression in which the plants were noticeably smaller and less healthy in color. 

 As no lot was situated entirely in the depression, the comparative value of the 

 tests was not impaired. There were some striking differences in the time of 

 maturing and in size and habit also. 



Seed of a variety from China (S. P. I. No. 2869) wiih light green leaves and 

 blue flowers made a growth of nearly 3 feet and matured about September 12. 

 The variety " Kaiyuski daiszu " from grass garden seed had also light green 

 leaves, very much wrinkled, and white flowers. It matured at the same time. 



A variety from Paris (S. P. I. No. 5039) produced rather slender plants with 

 dark foliage. Fruit ripened September 20. This was called ' ' Early Black. " 



Two Japanese forms (S. P. I. Nos. 4912 and 4913) were sturdy bush-like plants 

 about 2^ feet high and ripened their seeds about October 10. 



Another Japanese variety, called "Best Green" (S. P. I. No. 4914) produced 

 stout, heavy plants which grew to be 3 feet high and matured very slowly. On 

 October 16 the vines were yet fresh and green and the seed was not ripe. Most 

 of it matured from November 7 to 13. 



Two Chinese varieties, " Chm Pi Do" (S. P. I. No. 2871) and "Heh Pi Do" 

 (S. P. I. No. 2872) were planted May 31. The first grew to a height of 4 to 6 

 feet. The plants were at first erect but finally bent over from their own 

 weight. On October 16 the fruit was well formed but not ripening, and the 

 plants were still vigorous. On November 17 the frost had destroyed most of 

 the foliage. Only a few of the seeds were fully ripe. The second variety reached 

 a height of over 4 feet and matured a little earlier than the preceding. 



LUPINES AND VETCHES. 



Eight different lots of lupines were planted on May 29. The seeds of one were 

 collected in Wyoming in 1898. The others were all secured in France and 

 Russia by the Section of Seed and Plant Introduction. All were failures from 

 the start, as not more than a dozen germinated on any plat, and most of these 

 succumbed to the heat and insect attacks. Not more than a dozen plants on 

 all the plats lived to produce seeds, of which the greater part were eaten by 

 insects. 



Thirty-six different lots of vetches, comprising fifteen different species, five 

 native and ten foreign, were planted May 22, 26, and 28. The different lots of 

 Giant Vetch {Vida gigantea Hook.) and Stolley Vetch {V. leavenworthii T. & G.), 

 both native species, failed to germinate, as did also one lot of Vicia dnmetonmi 

 from France. Five different lots of horse bean (F. faba L.) resulted in a very 

 poor stand of weak plants, which were badly injured by heat. The few plants 

 which survived made a growth of li feet and some produced flowers. Three 

 lots of Narbonne Vetch ( F. narbonensis L.) gave similar results. Two lots of 

 the one-flowered vetch ( V. monantha) gave fair stands, but the plants were dried 

 up at the height of 5 inches. They recovered somewhat later, but made little 



