St. Tammany farmer., 1901-07-20
FARMER ANDPLANTER
VELVET BEAN IN THE SOUTH.
Ever Introduced ~ u Forage
Plant and Soil Reviver.

Plant and SO1l Aev1vef.
The velvet bean IS one OF the most
remarkable and valuable legumes ever
introduced in the southern states. II
came originally from India as an or
namental vine, and has suddenly be-
come prominent as a forage plant and
soil reviver of grea. worth. Under IA
vorable conditions the vines grow 30
to so inches in length, and yield two
to three tons of excellent hay per
acre. Scple farmers have harvested
so bushels of beans from an acre, and
secured profits greater than any 9TH
er bean or pea CROP. AS fertilizer
there seems to be nothing equal tc
the velvet bean. and the part it is
destined to play in agriculture is GER
tainly subject of commentator.
A light sandy soil! is best suited to
the velvet bean, and the richer it is
in hu1nus and plant food the better.
Fall or wiWter plowing is advisable,
and early spring planting is more sue
cessful than later in the season. A
bad weedy field can be easily and
cheaply reclaimed by sowing the vel
vet beans, as the vines will choke out
all foul weeds and grasses.
This plant belongs to the legume
family, and possesses a common prop
erty of drawing it's own nitrogen from
the atmosphere. LII fertilizing the
bean, therefore, only phosphoric acid
and potash have to be applied; from
$50 to 200 pounds muriate of potash,
and 200 to 400 pounds acid phosphate
per acre would make good annual
dressing for the velvet bean. These
materials can be we'll worked into the
soil, and they will promote heavy
growth of the crop, which means an
absorption of large quantity of nj
trogen and organic matter.
The velvet bean is a small mottled
brown and white seed, which is very
rich in protein. 1t grows in pods
borne on clusters two to three feet
apart On the long vines. Each pod
contains from three to six beans. A
long season is necessary to mature
the beans, hence the crop is more
profitable in the extreme south. The
value of the vines for pasturage in the
fall and plowing under as green
manure is SO great that it pays well
in the central and northern states.
Many analyses of the vines have dem
onstrated their richness in soil foods.
An illustration comes from the Lou
isinana experiment station, where H.
113 pounds of velvet bean vines and
leaves contained 9s.4 pounds of nj
trogen, while the roots and fallen
leaves were equally rich in this plant
food.
In planting the velvet bean many
prefer drilling in rows four feet apart,
dropping beans in. hills two feet
apart. About two inches is sufficient
depth to cover the seed. If the soil
is rich the distance apart in rows
may be made to five feet and the
hills wiGened to three feet. In the
northern sections of country the seed
may be planted more thickly than in
the south as the vines will not grow
so rank end beans are not expected to
mature. The chief uses Of the north
ern crop are for pasture and hay, but
the beans are valuable even for these
alone, without any seed ripening.
Where the vines grow thrifty a disc
harrow or rolling cutter will be nec-
essary m blowing under the crop for
it's fertliizing qualities.
AS food products the velvet beans
are relished by many people. They
are more difficult in threshing and
cleaning that the ordinary field pea
or bean. If ground and used for feed
ing cattle, sheep and hogs, the bean
makes rich concentrated food equal
to any of the peas or beans. About
sixteen quarts of seed will plant an
acre at the average distance suggest
ed for hills. The seed may be OBJ
tained from any southern dealers ut
prices ranging about five cents Il
pound. On account of it's methods OF
collecting nitrogen from the air it is
q fine cover plant for orchards and
vineyards There is probably no sin
gle plant that will be found as prof
liable for enriching & the space be-
tween trees, and at the same time
driving cut obnoxious weeds and
Shoemaker, in Farmers
Home Journal.
1NnTVTDIIAI. INDEPENDENCE.