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7 II E 1RRI GA I ION A GE. 



them properly and thus be insured good 

 profits when they bear. 



THE VELVET BEAN. 



The velvet bean is one of the most re- 

 markable legumes ever introduced in the 

 southern states. It came originally from 

 Tndia as an ornamental vine and has sud- 

 denly become prominent as a forage plant 

 and soil reviver os great worth, Under 

 favorable conditions the vines grow 30 to 

 50 inches in length and yield two to three 

 tons of excellent hay per acre. Some 

 farmers have harvested 30 bushels of 

 beans from an acre and secured profits 

 greater than any other bean or pea crop. 

 As a fertilizer there seems to be nothing 

 equal to the velvet bean, and the part it is 

 destined to play in agriculture is certainly 

 a subject of commendation. 



A light sandy soil is best suited to the 

 velvet bean, and the richer it is in humus 

 and plant food the better. Fall or winter 

 plowing is advisable, and early spring 

 planting is more successful than later in 

 the season. A bad, weedy field can be 

 easily and cheaply reclaimed by sowing 

 to velvet beans as the vines will choke 

 out all foul weeds and grasses. 



This plant belongs to the legume family 

 and possesses a common property of draw- 

 ing its own nitrogen from the atmosphere. 

 In fertilizing the Dean, therefore, only 

 phosphoric acid and potash have to be ap- 

 plied; from 15 to 20 Ibs. muriate of pot- 

 ash and 300 to 400 Ibs. acid phosphate 

 per acre would make a good annual dress- 

 ing for the velvet bean. These materials 

 can be well worked into the soil and they 

 will promote a heavy growth of the crop 

 which means an absorption of a large 

 quantity of nitrogen and organic matter. 



The velvet bean is a small mottled brown 

 and white seed which is very rich in pro- 

 tein. It grows in pods borne on clusters 

 two to three feet apart on the long vines. 

 Kach pod contains from three to six beans. 

 A long season is necessary to mature the 



beans, hence the crop is more profitable in 

 the extreme south. The value of the 

 vines for pasturage in the fall and plowing 

 under as a green manure is so great that 

 it pays well in the central and northern 

 states. Many analysis of the vines have 

 demonstrated their richness in soil foods. 

 An illustration comes frqui the Louisiana. 

 Experiment station where 4,113 Ibs. of 

 velvet bean vines and leaves contained 

 93.4 pounds of nitrogen, while the roots 

 and fallen leaves were equally rich in this 

 plant food. 



In planting the velvet bean many prefer 

 drilling in rows four feet apart, dropping 

 beans in hills two feet apart. About two 

 inches is sufficient depth to cover the 

 seed. If the -soil is rich the distance 

 apart in rows may be made to five feet and 

 the hills widened to three feet. In the 

 northern sections of the country the seed 

 may ba planted more thickly than in the 

 south as the vines will not grow so rank, 

 and beans are not expected to mature. 

 The chief uses of the northern crop are 

 for pasture and hay, but the beans are 

 valuable even for these alone, without any 

 seed ripening. Where the vines grow 

 thrifty a disc harrow or eolling cutter will 

 be necessary in plowing under the crop 

 for its fertilizing qualities. 



As a food product the velvet beans are 

 relished by ir.any peopje. They are more 

 difficult in threshing and cleaning than 

 the ordinary field pea or bean. If ground 

 and used for feeding cattle, sheep and 

 hogs, the bean meal makes a rich concen- 

 trated food equal to any of the peas or 

 beans. About sixteen quarts of seed will 

 plant an acre at the average distance sug- 

 gested for hills. The seed may be ob- 

 tained from any aouthern dealer at prices 

 ranging about five cents a pound. On ac- 

 count of its method of collecting nitrogen 

 from the air it is a fine cover plant for 

 orchards and vinyards There is probably 

 no single plant that will be found as pro- 

 fitable for enriching the spice between 



