The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-02-20
< Letters to The Editor. i: EMxx&**xxAs&x*x xx.xk kx$2S*ss
 THE GREAT VELVET BEAN.
"The Poor Mans Fertilizer. 9

Last spring l called the attention or Southern farmers to the value of the Velvet Bean as a stock feed and ferti- lizing plant through the columns of the agricultural papers. That my brother farmers might see for themselves what the beans would do I distributed several hundred packages of the seed in different States. It was late in the season before most of these seed were planted and the early frost caught most of them be- fore maturity. but the enormous growth of the vines and the avidity with which stock ate them attracted great attention wherever grown. Those who planted early matured the seed in most instances. will give a plan later on to mature the seed in the most Northern latitude, and once the seed are ripened there thsy will mature much earlier than the Florida grown seed which are accustomed to our long summers.
 Having received SO many letters re- gently asking for more information abou the beans to save correspondence and for the benefit of all who may be interested I have decided to write general article made a close study for years of plants that would enrich our lands without the use of so much costly commercial fer tilizer, thought the stock pea was the thing until I tried the Velvet Bean. but experiment has proven it 50 per cent. more valuable for. building up the soil than the king of economical stock feeds, and once its qualities become known the
 
 lars in the saving of fertilizers. They have been tested in a limited manner from Maryland to Texas and as far North as Michigan with such results that have yet to hear of farmer giving them up who had learned their value. Their effect in building up poor worn out soils Is so truly remarkable they have been aptly called the poor mans ferti- lizer. and the experiment stations that have tested them are united in their praise. The Louisiana station found that an ordinary~acre of the beans contained l91 pounds of nitrogen. 243 pounds of pot which when plowed under has a ferti- lizing value of $40 an acre. The Alaba- ma station planted a patch of the beans on an old worn out hillside farm which were turned under in the fall and the ground sown in oats. On an adjoining plot the crab grass and ordinary growth that had sprung up in the year was sown in the same manner. When the oats were harvested the following spring the yield was 33.6 bushels per acre following the beans and only 84 following the crab grass and other growth. The straw from tthe bean plot weighed just five times as plot planted in corn following the beans gave results equally startling. Now here is an object lesson every farmer in the South will do we'll to study for crop der for M an acre. My own experience extending over a period of six years has been 50 satisfactory that I have con stantly increased my acreage and this year am planting 400 acres. The enor- nous growth of vines and yield of beans Is truly an eye opener. I have known them to make nine tons of hay and seventy-five bushels of shelled beans on land that would not make over twenty bushels of corn. The bean is very rich In protein and equal to cotton seed meal in feeding value. The vines contain large amounts of carbohydrates and supply the roughage, making complete feed that is the most economical grown. Last fall the Florida Experiment Station took a grade steer and fed on velvet beans and pods in the green stage for sixty days and gain of 214 pounds was made in weight in that time. We generally turn the steers in the beans when they first begin to mature and an acre fattens three to six head, increasing their selling value an average of q per head. The stubble is plowed under the following spring and planted to corn and the crop is generally 50 per cent. better. The vines make the finest feed for milk cows ever saw and are equally good for sheep. horses and other stock but the beans are not suitable for human food.
 To make them. prepare the land in the same manner as for corn. Plant. when danger of frost is over. in rows four feet apart. eighteen to twenty-four inches in the drill, two to hill Cultivate once or twice according to growth and lay by. They grow at tremendous rate and soon cover the ground with 6 mass of vines waist deep. The old leaves drop off and new ones keep coming on and I have seen the ground six inches deep in leaves and none could be missed from the vines. The vines keep green until killed by the frost but they rot very quickly and can be turned under In a short time. The beans grow in clusters similar to COW peas, ripening rapidly. and can be picked twice as fast as COW peas. They grow In a thick hull and will hang on the vines three months after ripening before rotting. big advantage over COW peas. and can be grazed on all winter by stock. The vines make very nutri- tious hay and can be moved two or three times They withstand the severest drought or wettest weather thrive any where and rarely make a failure. am perfectly satisfied they are going to prove one of the most valuable crops introduced in recent years and more farmers will plant this year than ever before. I may he called velvet bean "crank." but 1t has proven so profitable in building up a poor worn out farm, and Is so cheaply grown, when l think of the thousands of farms who are barely making a living on their poor land, I consider 1t my duty to call their attention to what the bean will do and help them get started I have at my own expense sent out a large lot of small packages. but a dozen or so of seed are not enough to make a fair test or to get q start, however, and as the seed are worth g per bushel here, cannot afford to furnish the seed and pay the postage too. Now, to help the work along I will send to leading far mers a large bag of the seed with full instructions for planting and maturing the seed in the colder climate of the Northern States provided they will for ward me 25 cents for postage. Or for s1 I will forward enough seed for an acre as long as they last if the grower will agree to distribute portion of his first crop among his neighbors and get them started I am not in the seed business, have none to sell and make thls offer because l feel that I am helping my brother farmers to get start of a crop that has doubled the value of my farm in Droductiveness. Kline O. Yarn.
 Fairview Farm, Fort Meade Fla.
 The Next Governor.
 Dear Grandma.
 William D Ielks will he nnmin ated for