The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1899-03-01
A New Forage Plant.

A New Forage Plant.
Last spring, attracted by an adver.
tisement, I purchased small quantity
of what were called "forage beans, .
but the true name of which is velvet
beans.
The soil, sandy loam, having been
thoroughly plowed and narrowed and
treated to "early trucker at the rate
Of 400 pounds per acre, I planted the
beans three feet by three feet, drop
ping two to three beans in each check.
A full stand was secured, and cultiya-
tion as for corn proceeded until the
plants manifested disposition to run.
They grew rapidly and luxuriantly,
whether in drought or in seasons fair.
Betimes clusters of beautiful 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 clus-
ter, appeared. I intended to have
had the vines cut when in the bios
SONS, but absence from home and for
getfulness on the part Of the hired
man prevented this. When the vines
were cut the beans were rapidly ap-
preaching maturity. Quite 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 most
satisfactory results. l have ground
the beans and fed to poultry with
similar results. Delighted with this
new forage crop, 1 Immediately cast
about to gather all the information
obtainable as to it's history, the expe-
riments of others, etc.
AS solid renovator, the velvet
bean is believed to be superior to the
COW pea. It supplies, green or cured,
an extraordinary quantity Of the very
best forage from the poorest and
lightest soils.
DR.. H. E. Stockbridge, Of the Flori-
da Experiment Station, writes me
that he regards the velvet bean as one
of the strongest nitrogen gatherers
amcng 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 highly nutri-
tious 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 .36 pei
cent. and the latter 14.30 per cent
while of nitrogen, the velvet bean
contained 60.5 per cent. the COW pea
go per cent.
The yield in beans per acre on the
poorest soils is eighteen to twenty
bushels.
The velvet bean has been success
fully planted as fertilizer for orange
groves near Orlando, Fla, by Mr.. A.
P. Newheart 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 most valuable mulch.
If one should desire to get the best
and the largest quantity of forage, one
should cut the vines when in the
blossom.
l am satisfied that the velvet bean
is an invaluable addition to the forage
crops of the South. I have written
this letter, giving experiments made
with and observations of this new
plant, in the hope that they may in.
ducc many Of our people to test the
velvet bean this year.
| l have no seed for sale.-.M1rtiae /.
Ca1rin, n -iti,infa Gonsfittion.
= Mrs. \. to her friend Mrs. B.
80 dear just listen to my last expc-
ricncc. At the last ball my Alice
made the acquaintance of a young