FIVE ORIENTAL SPECIES OF BEANS. 21 



The Oregon or Chickasaw pea, as described by early writers, agrees 

 very closely with a sort that has become naturalized in South Caro- 

 lina in several localities and which was again brought into cultivation 

 by Prof. C. C. Newman, of the South Carolina Agricultural College, 

 in 1905, and hence has been called the "Newman bean." There can 

 be but little doubt that the Newman bean is the same variety that 

 was previously known as the Chickasaw or Oregon pea. 



One variety, evidently rather early, as it is spoken of as maturing 

 quickly, was tested in Louisiana (Dodson and Stubbs, 1898, p. 36) 

 previous to 1898, the plant being considered nearly equal to the cow- 

 pea in value. 



AGRICULTURAL VALUE. 



Notwithstanding that the varieties of the mung bean exhibit a wide 

 range of comparative excellence, it is doubtful whether the best will 

 prove a permanent addition to American agriculture. As a field crop 

 the mung is directly comparable to the cowpea and the soy bean, 

 and it has nowhere proved superior to these. The mung is not as 

 vigorous a plant as the cowpea and does not cope very successfully 

 with weeds. As a seed producer it is far inferior to the soy bean, and 

 the seeds are much subject to attack by weevils. The best seed 

 yield that has been obtained was 22.8 bushels per acre, from No. 

 28053 in 1912 at Arlington farm. At Chillicothe, Tex., the seed 

 yields ranged from 4.1 to 15.2 bushels per acre. The fact, too, that 

 the mung bean did not find a permanent place in our agriculture 60 

 years ago when it was tested extensively is significant. 



At Monetta, S. C, a trial of 20 varieties of mung showed that all 

 were subject both to root-knot caused by the nematode Heterodera 

 radicicola and to wilt ( Fusarium sp.). 



At Arlington farm the foliage is much affected each season by a 

 white leaf -spot (Amerosporiwn oeconomicum) and to a greater degree 

 by a red leaf-spot ( Cercospora cruenta) , both of which diseases also 

 affect the cowpea. Some varieties were also considerably injured by 

 a mildew (Erysiphe polygoni). 



Among the disadvantages of the mung as compared to the cowpea 

 are its slow initial growth, the rather stemmy character of the plant, 

 the tendency of the herbage to turn black in curing, the susceptibility 

 of the plant to root-knot and to wilt, the irregularity of its fruiting, 

 and the shattering character of the pods. 



The general conclusion reached from the extensive tests at Arlington 

 farm, as well as at Monetta, S. C, and Biloxi, Miss., taken in connec- 

 tion with the results reached at several southern experiment stations 

 and by various individual cooperators, is that under present economic 

 conditions the mung bean is not to be recommended as a farm crop. 



