LEGUMINOUS PLANTS FOR FOEAGE 241 



and curing more readily. The hyacinth bean or bonavist (Dolichos 

 lablab), an annual resembling the cowpea but more viny, is often grown 

 as an ornamental. It is of no especial promise as a forage crop except in 

 the plains region of Texas, where it is apparently somewhat more drought 

 resistant than the cowpea. 48 



The Kudzu vine (Pueraria thunbergiana) is a rapidly growing 

 perennial vine which dies back to the ground each year. It is often 

 grown as an ornamental in the South, where it reaches a length of 60 

 feet or more. Recent trials show it to be of considerable promise as a 

 perennial forage crop for the Gulf region. Under field conditions the 

 prostrate branches root at the joints and send up twining shoots 2 to 4 

 feet high, which may be readily cut with a mower. According to Piper, 47 

 in northern Florida 3 cuttings of hay a season have been obtained, the 

 yield ranging from lower than velvet beans to as high as 10 tons per acre. 



"Tex. Rpt. 1912. * 7 Forage Plants, p. 564. 



