The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1917-04-18
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SUMTER, s. C.

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6 inches long; and the seeds white
and ilattened.
Chinese velvet bean.-Exactly like
the Lyon variety but earlier, matur-
ing a little later than the Georgia
variety.
Yokohama velvet bean.-This is the
earliest variety of all, and the plants
are not as large as the other sorts.
Its flowers are purple; the pods 4
to inches long with close gray hairs j;
seeds gray, large, fattened.
Choice of Varieties.
The sorts with pods like the COM
mon Florida velvet bean have the ad-
vantage that they do not shatter and
also resist decay much better than do
the smoother podded sorts. At the
present time it would appear that the
Georgia velvet bean is the most desir-
able of the medium-early sorts, but
the Chinese seems to produce larger
yields of pods. Where the season is
too short for these two varieties to
mature fully, the Yokohama velvet
bean is available, but the value of
this variety should be considered in
comparison with cowpeas and soy
beans. For the extreme South there
IS wider room for choice, as early
maturing varieties may, if desired.
be planted later in the season than
sorts like the Lyon and Florida.
Planting.
Good preparation of the seed ed
is just as desirable for velvet beans
as for other crops. Early deep plow-
ing followed by thorough narrowing
is recommended.
The seed should not be planted un-
til the ground is thoroughly warmed,
usually about the time that cotton
ordinarily is planted. One bushel of
seed of most varieties will be suffi-
cient for about acres if the seeds
are planted 18 inches apartin rows
a feet wide. The Yokohama bean
should be planted more closely, as
the vines are smaller.
Velvet beans may be sown alone,
but it is always preferable to utilize
some sort of support upon which the
vines may climb. With such support
they make more vigorous growth and
fruit more heavily. Poles are some
times used, but they are troublesome
and expensive. Most commonly corn
and velvet beans are grown together,
as the corn stalks provide the neces-
sary support for the vines. A strong
growing variety of corn, like Mexi-
can June, should be used for this pur-
pose. The corn should be planted
early, and when about feet high
the beans are planted between the
hills, either in the row or in the mid
die. After planting the crop should
be cultivated until the vines shade
the ground. The vines make such
heavy growth that little corn can be
gathered from the field, but when it
is grazed little of it will be lost. The
only expense for growing the corn is
the planting, and that will be more
than repaid in the increased yield of
the beans. In place of corn any late
variety of sorghum may be used. Vel
vet beans are sometimes planted be-
tween the rows of Japanese sugar
cane, which furnishes an ideal sup
Port. In this case the whole must
be supported, as the vines tie the
canes together so that harvesting
otherwise is rendered very difficult.
Soil Renovation.
For green manure and soil removal
ton the velvet bean is unexcelled
among field crops adapted to it's re-
gion. There is some objection to Us
ing it in orchards, as the vines climb
the trees and thus make considerable
additional labor. An ordinary crop
of velvet beans amounts to about 2
tons of dry matter per acre, which
would contain about 90 pounds of nj
trogen. AS most Of this nitrogen
comes from the air, there is added as
much of this substance as is contain
al in about 4 dO0 nor,lc of ,otIo.