VELVET BEAN 



THIS legume is grown only in the extreme southern states. It is a great 

 climber and a great producer of hay. It is very valuable as a stock 

 feed on account of the protein it contains, but it should be fed with 

 corn in order to secure the best results. In open fields it makes an 

 excellent cover crop, effectually eradicating troublesome weeds. Like 

 other legumes, it is of great importance as a soil improver, having the 

 power to gather nitrogen from the air. However, the larger per cent 

 of nitrogen is contained in the vines, leaves and seeds; hence, in order to 

 secure the greatest benefit as a fertilizer, the crop should be plowed 

 under. It is estimated that a good crop plowed under furnishes as 

 much nitrogen to the soil as a ton of cotton-seed meal. A ton of beans 

 in the pod contains fifty-four and eight-tenths pounds of nitrogen, 

 thirty-one and eight-tenths pounds of potash and thirteen and eight- 

 tenths pounds of phosphoric acid, having a fertilizing value of ten or 

 eleven dollars. The hulls contain a much higher percentage of phos- 

 phoric acid and potash than the berries. In Florida it is reported that 

 the oat crop is increased four-fold when grown in rotation with velvet 

 beans. In Alabama it doubles the sorghum crop. As a forage crop in 

 the south it has four times the value of German millet. 



The Time to Plant 



depends upon the season and the use to be made of the crop. The 

 beans should be planted ten or fifteen inches apart in the drill and the 

 rows four feet apart at the rate of about a peck of seed per acre. The 

 better plan, however, is to plant in rows six or eight feet apart, alter- 

 nating with rows of corn or sorghum, to help support the vines. 



At the Alabama Experiment Station a yield of 7,300 pounds of hay 

 per acre was obtained by planting in drills two feet apart, while the best 

 yield obtained by broadcasting was 5,360 pounds. 



It has been demonstrated in Florida that commercial fertilizers were 

 of no value, or at least they did not make an increase great enough to 

 pay for the fertilizer used. It must be borne in mind that it is necessary 

 to inoculate the ground before the beans are planted. This is done by 

 distributing soil from an old field. 



The velvet bean being a highly nitrogenous feed, should not be fed 

 alone, as such feeding has been reported, according to the United 

 States Department of Agriculture, as causing abortion among cattle 

 and hogs, and blind staggers among horses. The hay when fed exclu- 

 sively to horses is likely to cause kidney trouble, but this danger can 

 be overcome by mixture with an equal amount of crab grass hay, or if 

 fed with the proper amount of corn, the bad effects are obviated and the 

 great feeding value of the bean is secured. 



