BIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SEED OF THE GEORGIA 

 VELVET BEAN, STIZOLOBIUM DEERINGIANUM 



By Barnett Sure; and J. W. Read, Laboratory of Agricultural Chemistry, University 



of A rkansas 



The velvet bean, Stizolohium deeringianum Bort.,is annually becoming 

 more important in southern agriculture, and the acreage planted to this 

 crop in the cotton belt is continually mcreasing. From 1915 to 1917 it 

 is estimated that the area increased from less than 1,000,000 acres to 

 more than 5,000,000 acres. The acreage in 191 7 was 1 19 per cent greater 

 than in 19 1 6. It is the most vigorous growing annual legume in the 

 United States ; and on account of its very rank growth and the common 

 practice of cultivating it v/ith the corn crop it is chiefly used as a winter 

 pasture for cattle and hogs, although much larger quantities of the 

 beans are harvested from year to year and ground, either with or with- 

 out the pods, for market purposes. Harvesting with the com crop for 

 use as silage is also growing in favor. 



Because of the rapidly increasing interest in this crop as a feed and 

 its very considerable promise in this respect, particularly to the South, 

 it occurred to one of the authors^ that a biological analysis should give 

 very fundamental information as to how the velvet bean might best be 

 utilized for feeding purposes. Accordingly the Georgia Velvet Bean, 

 commonly know as the Early Speckled, was chosen for our studies be- 

 cause of its early maturity, general popularity, and adaptability to the 

 more northern as well as to the other sections of the cotton area. 



The Georgia velvet bean seed has a very tough, hard hull which con- 

 stitutes 12 per cent of the whole seed. In grinding the beans it was 

 found impossible to grind the hulls in a satisfactory manner; conse- 

 quently these were sifted out. The experiments reported in this paper 

 were conducted with hulled seed. It was later found, however, that 

 after the sifted hulls had been dried on a steam bath for from six to eight 

 hours they could be ground ; and experiments were later inaugurated, 

 introducing the hulls in the same proportions as they were found to 

 exist in the seed, the results of which will be reported later, together 

 with other data showing the supplementary relationships of the seed 

 to the leaf and the biological value of the whole plant. The nutritive 

 value of the seed and the whole plant in practical rations is also being 

 studied at the present time. 



' Credit for the inauguration and outline of the velvet-been studies as approved under the Adams Fund 

 is due Prof. J. W. Read. 



Journal of Agriculural Research, Vol. XXII, No.i 



Washington, D. C. Oct. i, 1921 



za Key No. Ark.-i 



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