COWPEAS, SOYBEANS, AND VELVET BEANS 151 



corn and Florida velevt beans. Chapman's selection has been 

 increased and distributed under the names ''Georgia" and "Hun- 

 dred-Day Speckled." This variety requires 120 to 130 days to 

 mature. The "Alabama" variety, which matures in 170 to 180 

 days, or about two months earlier than the Florida velvet bean, 

 was developed from an early maturing plant observed by Blount. 



The discovery of these early varieties has greatly increased 

 the acreage of velvet beans by making it possible to grow them 

 farther north. In 1914 less than 1,000,000 acres were grown, 

 whereas, in 1917, over 5,000,000 acres were given to this crop. 



Another mutation 1 which is of unusual interest because of 

 the long viny habit of growth of the velvet bean, is the bush 

 form discovered recently in the Alabama variety. The appear- 

 ance of the bush type has been found in other normally twining 

 beans such as the common bean, the Lima bean, the hyacinth 

 bean, and the soybean. The above mentioned bush or "bunch" 

 velvet bean was discovered by R. Beasley on his farm near Kite, 

 Ga. He carefully saved the seed of a single plant in 1914 and 

 from the resultant crop grown in 1915 obtained about 50 bu. 

 The United States Department of Agriculture is introducing 

 this variety into various localities of the Southern United States. 



For some purposes the bush variety possesses distinct advan- 

 tages. For instance when grown with corn it has no tendency 

 to twine around the corn stalks and pull them down. It is also 

 better suited for use as a hay crop. In appearance of pods and 

 seeds, ability of pods to resist decay when on the ground, and 

 time required to mature, the mutant is practically identical with 

 the Alabama variety. 



Breeding. Some progress has been made in the improvement 

 of the Florida velvet bean by hybridization and selection at the 

 Florida experiment station. A bean is desired which will give 

 a maximum yield of forage and seed of desirable quality. Plants 

 with bristle-like pubescence or small seeds with thick hulls are 

 undesirable. Dehiscent pods and also those which decay readily 

 when lying on moist soil should be avoided. An earlier-maturing 

 strain has been sought by crossing the Florida velvet bean, which 

 requires about 200 days to mature, with Yokohama, which re- 

 quires about 120 days. It is of interest to point out that from 

 one cross between late varieties (Florida x Lyon) a segregate was 



1 The following information was furnished by the courtesy of DR. C. V. 

 PIPER. 



