PORTO RICO EXPERIMENT STATION. 423 



holiiny, iiiul cMtonioloii'V, or ol" .Mr. \'iiii Lcciiliotr. iiiidcr tin' head of 

 collcc iiivcstij^atioiis. 



Tho followiiiijoxporiiiients, on wliicli hiiof report is niado, have l)een 

 under the immediate supervision of the writer, assisted by tlie farm 

 foreman. 



LEGUMINOUS CROPS. 



On account of the impoverished and had physical condition of much 

 hind in Porto Rico, considerahU^ittention has been gi\en to k'l^uminous 

 crops, with tlie hope of securing something that woukl serve in pre- 

 venting, to a large degree, the severe washing of the soil, which now 

 takes place on the steep lands and, at the same time, enrich the nitro- 

 gen content of the .soil as well as improve its physical condition. As 

 stated in the last amuial report, alfalfa, common red clover, crimson 

 clover, and alsike clover were tried at Rio Piedras, l)ut that all were 

 failures, except alfalfa, which was still living when the grounds were 

 al)andoned. 



In November, itxiij, about one acre was seeded to alfalfa on the 

 experimental grounds at Mayaguez. A good stand was secured and 

 the plants made a good growth. The dry season, which continued 

 from January 1 to May 15, retarded the growth, but man}' of the 

 plants bloomed, ^^'hen the rainy season began, the plants made a new 

 and vigorous growth for a short time, after which thev nearly stopped 

 growing and since which time the}' have barelv managed to survive. 

 No tubercles can be found on the roots, and it is believed this is the 

 cause of the poor success. Arrangements have been made to inocu- 

 late .some seed for a new plat, also to treat the soil of the present 

 field.* Two attempts have been made with each of three varieties of 

 Turkestan alfalfa, with failure as a result. 



Cowpeas have been tried a number of times, but always with failure. 

 No tubercles have been found on their roots, and they are much 

 trou])led by a small leaf hopper {Kinpoasca mali) and a stiilk borer. 



Soja beans have done nuuh better, but have not given large r(>turns. 

 The leaves, l)ei ng covered with hairs, have been le.ss subject to the 

 attjicks of the leaf hopper, but have been considerably damaged by a 

 small spotted beetle which eats holes in them. 



Beggar weed was tried, but only a few phmts .secured; these few 

 have grown fairly well. 



Velvet bean has done best of all. The vines when j)lanted in drills 

 one meter apai-t have completely covered the ground with a dense 

 growth and given a good yield of beans. 



The sword l)ean has also done well, but grows slower and for a nuich 

 longer period than the velvet bean. Of all the legumes tried the velvet 

 bean is thcMuost ]u-omising and should prove a good plant foi- building 

 up the nitrogen content of th(^ soil. 



