64 
H. G. Hastings Co., Seedsmen, Atlanta, Georgia. 
EXTRA 
EARLY 
VELVET 
kBEANS 
Early Velvet Beans 
For twenty years or more Florida and the Gulf Coast section have known and grown 
the old Florida Velvet Bean with its long time of maturity. They can do it and get 
full value out of the crop either for soil improvement or stock feed simply because 
they had the full length of season. | 
The length of time necessary to mature the Florida or Late Velvet Bean barred its 
use for all practical purposes over most of the Cotton Belt, where above all sections 
its land improving qualities were needed. 
Our generality of soils in the Cotton Belt are poor — not in the mineral elements but 
in the vegetable matter or humus that is necessary to enable the growing crop plants 
to get mineral elements that are already there but are not available. 
Our continuous cropping Avith clean culture crops has either burned up or let wash 
away practically all the vegetable matter that was in them. With this condition our i 
crops not only can not get the potash and phosphoric acid in the soil but neither can 
they get full benefit from the commercial fertilizers. 
The value of average stable manure, stable lot trash, rotted leaves or straw is large- | 
ly in the vegetable matter that it puts back in the soil. 
We of the South must seriously begin a period of land building. We have been 
“land-skinning” until the expression of “worn-out” land is mighty common. 
The South's Soil Salvation 
No man or woman ever needed salvation in the religious sense any more than the 
average cotton growing soils of the South need salvation in the'physic&l or land build- 
ing sense. We say this in all reverence and without any disrespect to the Creator of 
all things. 
A piece, of virgin land, deep and rich with vegetable matter and plant food is just as 
much a part of God’s work as you are and should be treated as such instead of robbed 
and squandered as we and our ancestors have been doing. 
The washed out hill lands of the upper Cotton Belt and the sandy lands of the lower 
belt all need, and need badly, soil salvation. It is up to you and to us to bring 
this salvation to them in the shape of these crops turned under. Cowpeas are good, I 
but Velvet Beans are far better because they make far more growth. 
There are now early varieties, medium varieties, late varieties, and no man south of 
the Tennessee or Missouri line need deny his land and stock Velvet Beans, for there 
are now varieties to fit any length of growing season from 120 days up to 8 months. 
Extra Early Velvet, Yokahoma, Osceola and Chinese all have a place in the South, 
and there is no part of the Cotton Belt that can not grow successfully one or more ■ 
of these varieties named below. In the northern half we would advise the use only i 
of the Extra Early Velvet and Y'okahoma. 
Just a word further. On the Hastings Farm are some 500 acres of rather poor hill 
land. Every acre of it that we can get ready is going to be planted in Velvet Beans, 
let grow all summer and then turned under. We are doing each year exactly what 
we advise you to do. 
Extra Early Velvet Bean (No. 605) : 
Early Velvet grown in Middle Georgia where the seed matured perfectly in four 
months. It has the strong growing characteristics of the old variety, a crop of which 
turned under was estimated to do the land more good than a ton of average guano per 
acre. Extra Early Velvet is the one best variety for the middle and northern section of 
the Cotton Belt, gathering nitrogen from the air like cowpeas, making two to three ^ 
times as much growth and pods and adding a supply of vegetable matter to your soil 
that will show for years to come in your crop. Plant in rows 4 to 5 feet apart, drop- i 
ping 2 seeds every 12 to 15 inches. Cultivate once or twice and then let them alone. 
They will take care of themselves and everything else on the land. Packet, 10 cents; 
% pint, 15c; pint, 25c; quart, 40c; postpaid. Peck, not prepaid, 75c; bu., about $2.50. ' 
VAlraliAma Rositi ^Nn is the first of the early types of Velvet ' 
■ OKallOina Dean ^ Rill DUO ^ Beans to be introduced and is absolutely 
distinct. Matures slightly earlier than the Extra Early Velvet does, hence can be 
grown to full maturity anywhere in the Cotton Belt if planted early. 
Makes a little less vine but more and much larger pods than Early Velvet, the pods 
being well filled with rather large flattened 4)eans that are splendid for either cattle 
or hogs at fattening time. As a soil enricher, as a hog and cattle feed crop furnishing 
both forage and grain, Yokahoma Bean will more than please you. Packet, 10 cents; 
% pint, 15c; pint, 25c; quart, 40c; postpaid. Not prepaid, peck, $1.00; bu., about $3.50. 
Chinese Velvet Beans (No. 609) valuable characteristics of its own. 
Medium in maturity between the Extra Early and the Late Velvet and well adapted 
to planting in the southern half of the Cotton Belt. Of vigorous growth right from the | 
start, the vines and large leaves quickly covering the ground with a dense mat of veg- 
etation. Pods and beans are large and grow in immense clusters, furnishing an abun- 
dance of the very best feed for hogs and cattle. They are safe and sure and we recom- 
mend the Chinese especially for the Gulf section. Packet, 10 cents; % pint, 15 cents; 
pint, 25 cents; quart, 40 cents; postpaid. Not prepaid, peck, $1.00; bushel, about $3.50. ! 
Osceola Velvet Beans (No. 606) ety of Velvet Bean, bu/was planV 
ed by many farmers this year who report excellent results. It is said to combine the 
earliness of the Extra Early Speckled Velvets together with the heavy yielding quali- 
ties of some of the later types. Packet, 10 cents; % pint, 15 cents; pint, 25 cents; quart, 
40 cents; postpaid. Not prepaid, peck, $1.00. Write for prices in larger quantities. 
QUANTITY PRICES ON VELVET BEANS 
Write for special prices on quality lots when ready to buy. Velvets 
are subject to market changes but prices will be right. 
