The Florida agriculturist. [volume] (DeLand, Fla.) 1878-1911, 1899-07-05

les of animals or the clothing of persons.
The plant lis hairy throughout ami has
trifoliate leaves, the obliquely rhomboid
leaflets being two to four inches long.
Florida beggIar weed is closely related
to the beggar weeds or teggar lice If
northern woodlands and prairies. Being
a sub-tropical species, it is adapted to
cultivation either as forage or for soil
renovation in sub-tropical regions. 1t
now ranks in the estimation of the plant
er with velvet bean though perhaps its
sphere of usefulness is not so extended
as the latter.
In common with all other leguminous
plants the beggar weed has the power
of taking nitrogen from the air by means
of Understanding bacteria in is roots.
Beggar weed may be used as a nitrogen
gatherer by the farmer, who lis thus en-
abled to procure at small expense large
quantities of this most valuable fertili-
ger or plant food. Ut has been reported
by farmers who have grown beggar weed
in their orchards and corn fields that the
texture and color of the soil have been
changed within two years as Il result OF
blowing under the annual crops of beg
gar weed. lit grows best ON light sandy
soils and makes its rankest growth when
fortified literally with superphosphate
and muriate or sulphate of potash. Sandy
soils do not retain an excess of phosphor-
ic acid and potash in the same manner as
clayey soils unless there is a good deal
of humus or decaying organic matter
present and lit is of the highest import
ance if the fertility of such light soils
is to he increased, that large quantities
of some form of green manure be given
them. This can best be done by growing
leguminous crops such as beggar weed
or velvet bean, which not only supply
rank bulk of vegetation, but contain
larger amounts of nitrogen than the non
leeruminous crops. Humus added to the
soil makes it more retentive of moisture
and improves it's physical condition; and
the humus acts as a reservoir of surplus
in organic plant foods, preventing or re-
tarding their teaching into the drainage
WATERS A crop of beggar weed turned
under, will, when decOmposed, retain
near the surface in ready reach of the
roots of succeeding crops more of what
ever fertilizers are subsequently applied.
Besides adding a large amount OF nitrogen
to the soil, the beggar weed takes up
large quantities of lime and potash,
about one-half of the total amount of ash
consisting of these two elements. Anal
vses show that one ton of beggar-Weed
ash contains sos pounds of line, 23O pounds
of phosphoric acid, and 482 pounds of pot
ash. valued, when purchased in the form
of commercial fertilizers, at about twen~
tv dollars One ton Of ibeggar-Weed hay
contains about SO pounds of nitrogen. It
REQUIRES from 20 to rs tons of hay to
WELD one ton of ash. AT a four-tOn yield
per acre. which is not an unusual one,
the fertIlizing value of the crop would be
about as follows: $50 pounds of nitrogen,
at IS cents per pound, $3.50; phosphoric
acid and potash worth $5.25, making a
total of S27.75. A four-ton crop of beggar
weed would therefore if turned under as
green manure supply an equivalent of
half a ton of the best commercial feT1t1-
rzer for the use of the succeeding crop
in rotation.
For "a crop of seed, beggar weed should
be sown at the rata of five or six pounds