Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-03-30
FACTS FOR THE FARMER INTERESTING OVER THE COUNTY
ly to shatter considerably when left in the field through the winter.
 When to Plant Velvet Beans.

" to Shatter COnSlQeraDly WNeu lel1 in the field through the winter.
 When to Plant Velvet Beans. II
 Plant velvet beans as soon in April as the danger of frost is over. The beans need the entire growing season in Arkansas to produce the largest yields and to fully mature. Hundreds of Arkansas farmers have planted velvet beans, found that they did not mature and have quit the crop in disgust. The cause of their failures was May and June planting. Most of the failures have been from plantings made in June.
 Velvet beans are quickly killed by frost in the spring and they rot when planted in wet, cold ground. For these reasons they should not be planted until the soil becomes warm and the danger of frost is over, but they should be planted. just as early as possible and miss the frost. The ear Her the planting is made after dan ger of frost, the larger the yield and the more the beans enrich teh soil. How to Plant Velvet Beans. Velvet beans make few pods when planted alone. They must have a. strong support in order to produce a rank growth and heavy yield of pods and beans. The best support is corn and nearly all of the 4,800,OOO acres of velvet beans grown last year in the cotton states were plant ed in fields of corn grown to produce crop. 1 Plant the corn in the usual way for producing a good yield-the rows the usual distance apart aad the stalks in the rowed spaced the ordinary dis tance. Plant one velvet bean every "A inches in the corn rows-not between the rows.
 Many corn and cotton planters have two hoppers that can be attached to the machine at the same time. With such planter, put the seed corn in one hopper and the velvet beans in the other. Both kinds of seed will be 1 planted at the same time.
 When the corn is planted before the danger from frost is over or whe- ther right kind of planter is not available, the beans will have to be planted by hand.
 Plant the beans shallow, from one inch to one and half inches in depth. Many poor stands and some total failures have been made by planting the seed toe. deep.
 InOculation for Velvet Beans.
 The question is often asked do vel vet beans need to be inoculated like ! xalfalfa, crimson clover and other le- gumes when they are planted on land where they have never been grown before?
 The experts of the United States Department of Agriculture have found that as a rule inoculation of velvet bean seed is not necessary. The same bacteria that inoculate cow peas and lespedeza, inoculate velvet beans. Practically all the land in Ar kansas is, therefore, inoculated for velvet beans. -
 Yield of Velvet Beans.
 The yield of velvet beans varies with the season, the soil and the stand. A good stand in a favorable season, on moderately fertile soil, will average a ton and a quarter an acre of beans and pods. The feed avlue of this quantity is equal to what of 35 bushels of corn.
 On very thin land the yield an acre is sometimes as low as 500 to 800 pounds of beans in the pod.
 On rich land, as high as 5000 pounds an acre of beans in the pod have been produced.
 l On good land the yield is frequent I ly 5000 pounds of beans in the pod an acre and sometimes 4,000 pounds. T Dr. E.. R. Lloyd reports that on the sandy pine lands of the McNeil Branch Experiment Station, Missis- sippi, the field, after severe storms, was 2,800 pounds beans in the hull per acre, and that it has been no trouble tc make as much as 5000 pounds an acre.
 I The yield of velvet bean hay is two to three tons an acre.
 Fertilizing Value of Velvet Beans. The velvet bean is the best fertil- izing annual crop that can be grown in the, summer. It will grow on land so poor that almost all other soil i'm proving crops will fail. Its rank growth adds much vegetable matter to the soil and when pastured by farm animals the manure leaves the fertilizing value of the crop on the land.
 I The velvet beans have long, fleshy roots that grow 10 to 30 feet in length and the roots have an abun- dance of large tubercles that take nitrogen from the air and put it in a form that makes the soil rich. The Louisiana Experiment Station found that the velvet beans growing on an acre contained 191 pounds of nitro fen, which at present prices for con- mercial fertilizers would be worth ov. er.$65.
 I Velvet beans cut for hay and roots plowed under were followed the next year by cotton. Where the beans were cut for hay, the yield per acre of seed cotton was POS pounds great CT and the yield where the vines were plowed under was 660 pounds more than where cotton followed cotton.