COWPEAS RANK GROWERS 203 



drained soils. It is a rampant grower and will make 

 vines 30' to 50' long in a season and in Florida will pro- 

 "duce 20 to 30 bushels of beans per acre. It makes over 

 the land a dense tangle of vines that are commonly al- 

 lowed to lie for a year and decay, before they are turned 

 under. Hogs and cattle thrive on the beans. The vines 



Velvet Bean, showing leaves, flowers, and young pods. 



are sometimes made into hay and yield from 2 to 4 

 tons per acre. The effect on the soil of velvet beans 

 is much the same as of cowpeas, but they are not adapted 

 to northern latitudes. On Woodland Farm, in central 

 Ohio, they made one year a respectable growth, but ani- 

 mals accustomed to other forage would not eat them 



