1 Jan., 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 43), 
often been cut for fodder; my own experience is that, when cut in its succulent. 
stage and well cured, horses and. cattle will pick the Phaseolus and leave other 
ood fodder. Some farmers have given this plant the name of Native Lucerne; 
ence, perhaps, the practice. I have occasionally, known to be adopted of cutting 
this: plant as a substitute for lucerne, which it in some stages of growth some- 
what resembles. Our obseryant farmers, have, moreover, noticed. that a crop, 
succeeding a plot where this plant has been rampant has, disclosed a notable , 
yield on that particular area. My object. in presenting these characteristic, 
features is but to seek the services of .our. agricultural scientists to. 
investigate the qualities this plant. may, probably possess as a nitrogen-. 
former, and determine, if possible, the, similarity, in character of this 
species of those Leguminose which have the characteristic root tubercles, 
at certain stages of development, which Willfarth and Hellriegel and a, host of | 
subsequent investigators declare produce the nitrifying bacteria necessary for 
the fertility of soils, and whose functions are to assimilate or prepare in some 
form, yet obscure, the fertilising elements best fitted to accelerate the growth 
and ultimate yield of the crops. Judging from observation of the habit and. 
growth of, this: plant, lam convinced that, whatever may be its demerits in 
impeding cultivation (and all who_have,had to contend with its aggressiveness, ° 
will admit its vigour), it has some hitherto unsuspected value in adding fertility . 
to worn-out lands. _ I find it more persistent in. such soils, but not perhaps so. 
rank of growth as in richer areas. Whether further investigation into the. 
merits of this plant will lead farmers to look with less disfavour upon its 
presence or not, can only be determined by scientific investigation. Should the. 
plant, as may reasonably be surmised, hold a place in the economy of Nature. 
such as other legumes are known to do, this hitherto unwelcome species may 
et be regarded as a friend in disguise, and prove to be of “some good as yet 
y us not understood.” Perhaps our friends at the Agricultural College will 
set their attention to determine what value there is in this plant, and perchance, 
following these lines of investigation, fall upon other facts or discover new : 
forms of flora that Nature providentially places at our service to make some- 
what easier the perplexing path of farm practice. The similarity of root 
tubercles peculiar to this plant, coupled with its true leguminous type and the 
evident improvement in succeeding crops, indicate its value as a nitrogen 
gatherer or former, and may yet establish its value as a new and useful plant 
in the realm of agriculture. Through the kindness of our esteemed Colonial 
Botanist, Mr. I’. M. Bailey, I herewith append his description of the plant:— 
PHASEOLUS, Linn. 
P. semi-erectus, Linn. (P. psoraleoides, W. and A.) A tall shrubby, 
suberect plant, with flexuose terete branches, clothed with long deciduous 
deflexed hairs. Stipules 4 or 5 lines long, lanceolate-setaceous leaves, petioles 
exceeding 2 in., leaflets 8, entire, membranous, soon glabrescent, the end one 
ovate, acute, or subobtuse, 2 or3 in. long, often deltoid at the base. Peduncles 
reaching 1 ft., and the raceme }-ft. long, bracteoles setaceous ; pedicels short, 
in pairs. Calyx tubulosa-campanulate with aristate teeth, about +-in. long, 
split open by the pod. Corolla deep purple and white, 3 or 4 times larger 
than the calyx. Pod 3 or 4in. long, about 14 lines in diameter, rarely recurved, 
many seeded ; seeds when ripe of a reddish colour. 
I met with the plant over thirty years ago at Hill End, South Brisbane, It is noticed in my 
publication as Phaseolus psoraleoides. . 
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On the subject of nitrate-forming bacteria, the Oalifornian Fruitgrower 
says :— : 
The leguminous plants, such as clovers, peas, beans, peanuts, vetches, and 
the like, are valuable for renovating the soil, in that the free nitrogen of the 
air is made use of in their growth and stored up in their roots, It has been 
