370 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 May, 1898. 
The Orchard. 
THE VELVET BEAN. 
By ALBERT H. BENSON, 
Director Experiment Farms. 
Axrnover notes on this plant have already appeared in the Queensland 
Agricultural Journal for August and October, 1897, I think that the following 
- information respecting its growth in this colony may be of interest to Queens- 
landers, as the previous notes were simply extracts from American journals, 
and the information they gave was more applicable to American than to 
Queensland conditions. 
In the first place the plant has been wrongly named, as it is not Dolichos 
mulitflores, but is recognised by Mr. F. M. Bailey, to whom I submitted 
specimens, as Mucuna pruriens, var. utilis, a variety of the plant commonly 
known as ‘“‘Cowhage”’ or ‘ Cow-itch.” 
The description already given of this plant is substantially correct, so T 
will simply refer my readers to the illustration herewith, which has been drawn 
by the artist to the Department from a plant grown at the Redland Bay 
Experiment Orchard. ; 
Last spring I received some twenty seeds of this bean from Mr. G. M. 
McKeown, then manager of the Wollongbar Experiment Farm, near Lismore, 
N.S.W. ; fourteen of these seeds were planted at Redland Bay and the balance 
were handed to Principal Shelton, and planted at Gatton College Farm in deep 
rich alluvial land, on the bank of Lockyer Creek, where they are doing very 
well. ; pz: 
The soil at Redland Bay on which the beans were planted is a deep loam 
of ared colour, originally covered with heavy forest; but for a number of 
years under bananas, and for the last three years under fruit trees, ‘The. 
surface soil has been somewhat exhausted by the banana culture, and from its 
appearance and the nature of the crops it produces, is deficient in organic 
matter and nitrogen, and probably in potash as well. 
The land has good natural drainage, but like most of the red loams of the 
colony that are of voleanie origin, it does not scour well, but sticks to and 
clogs all implements used for ploughing or cultivating. 
The following information respecting the preparation of the land, planting, 
and growth of the beans has been supplied to me by Mr. James Henderson, 
the manager of the Redland Bay Experiment Orchard :— 
“The soil was ploughed to a depth of § inches and twice harrowed before 
lanting. 
ra The beans were planted on the 2nd of November, at a distance of 4 feet 
apart in the row, and every second bean was manured with a bucketful of 
stable manure, forked into and mixed with the soil before planting, 
“The beans were staked with strong stakes 5 feet out.of the ground, with 
a light stick on top between the posts; but this was found to be totally in- 
adequate, as it was unable to support the weight of the plants, or to resist the 
force of the south-easterly winds, with the result that the beans were blown 
down four times. On the first occasion (9th January) three of the plants 
were broken off at the ground, but grew again, and are now (31st March) as 
large as any of the others. The beans, despite the rough treatment they have 
received, have made a heayy growth, have bloomed profusely, and are now 
covered with a heavy crop of unripe beans. As far as can be seen, there is no 
