The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1899-02-23

Martin V. Calvin, of Augusta. Ga.
writes as follows to the Atlanta Con-
stitution about a new forage plant.
the velvet bean" for which he
claims much:
Last spring, attracted by an advertise
ment, purchased a small quantity of
what were called ''forage BEANS" but
the true name OF which is ''velvet beans -
The soil, sandy loan, having been
thoroughly plowed and narrowed and
treated to ''earlyltrucker" at the rate of
400 pounds per acre, planted the beans
three feet by three feet, dropping two to
three beans in each check. A full stand
was secured, and cultivation as for corn
proceeded until the plants manifested u
disposition to run. They grew rapidly
and luxuriantly, whether in drought Or
in seasons fair. Betimes clusters of beau
tifu purple blossoms appeared on the
vines which latter shielded every inch of
ground on the plat set apart for them
Later bean pods, fifteen or twenty per
cluster, appeared. | intended to have
had the vines cut when in the blossoms,
but absence from home and forgetfulness
on the part of the hired man prevented
this. When the vines were cut the beans
were rapidly approaching maturity
Quite a number in each cluster did
mature. The yield, in carefully cured
forage, was at the rate OF three tons per
acre.
| have fed the vines, with bean pods on,
to COWS and horses with satisfactory re-
suits. | have ground the beans and fed
to poultry with similar results. Delight
ed with this new forage crop. immed-
lately cast about to gather all the infor-
nation obtainable Us to it's history, the
experiments of others, etc.
AS solid renOvatOr, the velvet bean
is believed to be superior to the COW pea
II supplies, green or cured. an extraordi-
nary quantity Of the very best forage
from the poorest and lightest soils.
DR.. H. E. Stockbridge, of the Florida
Experiment Station, writes me that he
regards the velvet bean as one of the
strongest nitrogen gatherers among all
leguminous plants. The beans contain
quite as much nitrogen as cotton seed
meal. Boiled, as we sometimes do COW
peas, the velvet bean will prove to be a
highly nutritious food for cows, mules
or horses. One must, of course, exercise
care in the beginning in feeding stock
with the hay on the beans.
An analysis of the velvet beans, as
compared with the COW pea, made at the
Florida Station, showed that of protein
the former contained 81. SO per cent and
the latter 1920 per cent; while of nitro
gen, the velvet bean contained 6O.5 per
cent; the COW pea 43 go per cent
The yield in beans per acre OH the
poorest soils is eighteen to twenty BUSH
els.
The velvet bean has been successfully
planted as ii fertilizer for orange groves
near Orlando, Fla by Mr.. A. p New
heart. They would perform the same
service in peach orchards, care being
taken as soon as the vines begin to run
to throw them back from the trees
They are then left till frost when the
beans can be picked. The ground will be
covered deeply with a most valuable
mulch.
If one should desire to get the best and
largest quantity of forage, one should
cut the vines when in the blossom.
am satisfied that the velvet bean is
an invaluable addition to the forage
crops OF the South. | have written this
letter, lglvlng experiments made with and
observations Of this new plant, in the
hope that they may induce many of our
people to test the velvet bean this wear