65 



Hon. H. C. Warner, Forestburg, Sanborn County, S. Dak. : 



The stand is perfect, but, as it is a perennial, its value can not be determined until 

 another year. 



BUR CLOVER (Medicago maculata) . 



An annual legume introduced from the Old World and now exten- 

 sively grown in the Eastern and Southern States, and west to Texas 

 and California. Its principal value is for winter and early spring 

 pastures, and when once stock have acquired a taste for the burs which 

 it produces the}'^ soon fatten on them. It is worthless for summer 

 use and of little value for hay. The seed should be sown in October 

 on rich, loamy soil and the plants will make good grazing by February 

 or March. It matures in April and Ma}^, after which the ground may 

 be plowed and cultivated in other crops during the summer. In the 

 South it has been found very valuable to use in conjunction with 

 Bermuda grass, as it matures its seed and dies at about the time the 

 Bermuda grass starts into growth. Twenty-nine packages of bur 

 clover seed were distributed during the fiscal year 1898-99, but so 

 far only seven reports have been received. These show three failures, 

 two unsatisfactory results, and two report it valuable as a forage crop. 

 The following reports indicate to some extent the results obtained. 



Mr. Alex. Raff, Orange Grove, Jackson County, Miss. : 



A rich, sandy loam was used. The seed was sown broadcast about the end of 

 April and covered 2 inches deep. Soon after it came up an extraordinary dry spell 

 set in, and the clover gradually perished. I planted only one-half of the seed sent 

 me, and will try again this winter with what is left. I believe the bur clover to be 

 valuable for this climate, Ijut think it should be planted in the fall or winter, as 

 the summer sun is too much for the young plants. 



Mr, E, M. Redwine, Newman, Coweta County, Ga. : 



The seed was sown broadcast on well-prepared soil October 3, 1899, and harrowed 

 in. It IS now (December, 1899) up well and looks very promising. 



A very similar and closely related plant, known as the California 

 bur clover {2Iedicago denticulata)^ is proving to be very valuable in 

 some parts of California. Although not so nutritious and palatable 

 as either alfalfa or clover, it produces fine summer pasturage when 

 other more important forage plants have become dried up by the 

 summer heat. As the burs which it produces are prickl}-, they become 

 entangled in the wool of sheep and thus decrease its value to a consid- 

 erable extent. 



VELVET BEAN (Mucuna utilis).» 



(Plate XI, fig. 1.) 



The velvet bean is a native of India and has been known in the West 

 Indies and the tropics of South America as an ornamental garden 



^ For full discussions on "Velvet Bean" see Bulletin Xo. 104, Alabama Experiment 

 Station, and Circular No. 14, Division of Agrostology, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. 

 15799— No. 22 5 



