FIVE ORIENTAL SPECIES OF BEANS. 99 
The moth bean has grown very satisfactorily at Arlington farm, 
Va., and also at Chillicothe, Tex. Owing to its numerous slender 
stems it produces a very fine quality of hay, but in unfavorable 
weather for curing the leaves drop off readily. The decumbent habit 
of the plant also makes it difficult to harvest with a mower. When 
planted in 3-foot rows at Chillicothe in 1907 for hay production, Nos. 
21600 and 8539 averaged 2,680 pounds of hay to the acre, as com- 
pared with 3,204 pounds for Whippoorwill cowpeas and 2,380 pounds 
for Iron cowpeas. At Dalhart, Tex., the moth bean produced in 
1909 a yield of 2,500 pounds of hor nee acre. 
Under the conauions where most fully tested, the moth bean has 
produced but little seed. During several seasons’ trial at Arlington 
farm very few flowers have formed and but few pods have ripened. 
At Chillicothe, Tex., the results have been similar, except in 1908, 
when a small yield of seed was obtained from chin plantings. The 
reasons for this light seed production are obscure. In India the moth 
bean yields as much seed as the mung. Duthie and Fuller (1882, 
p. 41) give the average yield per acre as about 11 bushels. 
Even were its seed production higher—and this might be secured 
by selection—the procumbent habit of the moth bean is such that it 
is not likely to be grown in preference to the cowpea. At Chillicothe 
it endured drought better than the cowpea, and this quality of resist- 
ance to drought is also noted by writers on Indian agriculture. 
The difference does not seem sufficient, however, to commend the 
plant to American agriculture under present conditions. 
CHEMICAL ANALYSES. 
The results of chemical analyses made by the Bureau of Chemistry 
of the hay of four of the five species of beans described in this bulletin 
and of the cowpea for comparison are shown in Table IT. 
TaBLeE II.—Chemical analyses of the hay of the mung, urd, adsuki, and rice beans and 
of the cowpea. 
Nitzogen- 
Plant. Water. Ash. ee Protein. Crude free 
i extract. 
es es eg fe Oe ee 
Mung bean (No. Ties i cut when pods 
were three-fourths grown............---. 7.18 8. 40 1. 47 10. 69 20. 57 51. 69 
Urd bean Me. 17308), cut when pods were 
aT PrOW iat -reiciec se ose s wee nee eme ae 7. 66 10. 92 1.31 12. 72 22. 33 45. 06. 
Adsuki bean (No. pees cut when pods 
were three-fourths grown..............-- 7.68 9. 87 2. 03 17. 66 23. 04 39. 72 
Rice bean (No. 25523), cut auhen pods were 
MAT. Wace ore ae ee 6. 41 10. 15 1.51 11. 16 32. 88 37. 89 
ON OLE es SOROS eS ee eee 10. 5 SEOs 2.6 14.2 21.2 42.6 
Comparative analyses of the seeds of the five oriental species of 
beans described in this bulletin, with the same data for the kidney 
bean for comparison, are presented in Table ITI. 
