8 9 

 MANILA BEAN IN JAMAICA. 



In April, 1906, a few seeds of Manila Bean (Psophocarpus tetra- 

 gonolobus) were received from the Bureau of Agriculture, Manila, 

 Philippine Islands. These were sown and the young seedlings 

 were put out along a wire fence at Hope Gardens where they 

 flowered freely in November and December, and produced pods 

 from which a good supply of seed has been saved. It is intended 

 to cultivate a plot of this plant in the Experiment Station this 

 year. 



In the Agricultural Ledger, 1906 — No. 4 (Calcutta) Mr. I. H. 

 Burkill, Reporter on Economic Products to the Government of 

 India, gives an account of the history, uses, and cultivation of 

 this bean. 



The plant is a native of the Malay Archipelago, and was proba- 

 bly introduced into India. It is an annual with violet-blue flowers 

 which are succeeded by pods of square section when cut across 

 and are winged along the four edges. The root is long and fleshy 

 like an oblong turnip. There are several varieties, distinguished 

 by length of pods, breadth of wings, and colour of seeds. 



The pods, while still green and tender, may be cut into short 

 segments and cooked, being used like French beans, to which they 

 are but slightly inferior in flavour. The ripe beans are not re- 

 commended as food as they are said to make the head heavy, 

 though roasted, they are used as food in Java. 



The fleshy root is dug up before any seeds are allowed to ripen, 

 and boiled. It is eaten by the Burmese, without cooking, between 

 meal times, as a delicacy. It is slightly sweet, firm like an apple, 

 and by no means unpleasant. If the seeds are allowed to ripen 

 the roots get dry and less pulpy. The plant likes a considerable 

 amount of moisture. 



In the Shan States the seeds are planted when the rains begin, 

 three inches deep in village gardens, or forest clearings, generally 

 where the burning of rubbish, branch-wood etc., has manured 

 the soil. The plants are trained on supports like yams and grow 

 ten to twelve feet in height. 



In Burma, the land is harrowed and hoed into furrows, between 

 which ridges two feet broad and a foot high are prepared with a 

 spade, one and a half feet apart in order not only to admit air 

 and water freely but to drain off water effectively. Then the seeds 

 are buried in small holes about three by six inches apart, specially 

 prepared for the purpose on the ridges. Weeds are periodically 

 removed, but stakes are not used, the plants being left to trail 

 along the ground. 



The average yield is over 48 cwts. of tubers per acre, and the 

 net profit amounts to about 25/. The margin left to bona fide cul- 

 tivators after trouble and expenses would by itself not be encour- 

 aging, but a bumper crop of sugar-cane is usually grown in the 

 year after a crop of Manila beans. It is said that the cane crop, 

 if preceded by Manila beans, yields half as much again as usual. 

 The trade in the roots is a large one, and they are sent in consi- 

 derable quantities more than 200 miles by rail or river. 



