Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-03-30

The velvet bean is the most val uable crop that has been introduced into the South in the last 50 years. It should be planted this year in every row of corn raised in Arkansas. This alone will add $3O,0OO,000 to the net profits of the Arkansas farmers in 1919.
 Velvet beans will not make full yield unless they climb well above the ground. The most profitable way to grow them is to plant one bean every 24 inches in every row of corn. The vines run up the corn and thick clusters of pods form all along the length of the vines. More than 200 clusters of pods form all along a single vine. The corn yields as much as it does when the beans are not planted with it and the pods and beans furnish more feed than the corn.
 Land that will yield 15 bushels of corn an acre will produce with the corn one and a quarter tons of velvet beans in the pod, equal in feeding Val- ue to 35 bushels of corn. This makes a total production of feed equal to 50 bushels of corn an acre instead of 15 bushels when the corn IS grown alone. The corn is gathered tand mules, horses, cattle, sheep and lhogs are turned into the field and eat the vines, leaves and pods with out any expense for harvesting. The velvet beans keep in good condition all winter in the field where they grew.
 Mules and horses eat the vines, leaves and pods and keep fat all winter without other feed. Beef cat- tie pastured through the winter on velvet beans gain in weight every month. Dairy cows, kept in field of velvet beans in the winter give more milk than they do on other feed land grain. Hogs eat the beans that other animals shatter off and get fat
 Cheapest Grain Crop.
 Velvet pods and beans are ground together into a fine meal and thou sands of carloads shipped to states where this crop does not grow. A ton of this meal has greater feed lvalue than any other crop. In test made by the Arkansas Experiment Station, velvet beans made an in- crease per acre in the yield of seed cotton of 215 pounds more than that Isecured from cowpeas. In many cases velvet beans have made the yield of crops following them double what it was before the beans enriched the !soil.
 The velvet bean is the cheapest Igrain crop that is grown. Planted with the corn the entire expense of Iraising the velvet beans is the cost of the seed beans. The land has to be lprepared planted and cultivated the same whether the corn is grown alone or with velvet beans. The velvet bean seed needed to plant an acre of beans is corn costs from 50 to 90 lcents, making an average of one cent the cost of producing feed equal to a bushel of corn.
 Causes of Failure.
 l. Hundreds of failures of the velvet beans to mature in Arkansas have been reported. There are many fail ures to get stand. The failures to mature are due chiefly to late plant ing. Velvet beans should be planted in Arkansas as easily as April as the danger from frost is over. Failures to get full stand are due to too deep planting and to weak seed. Even should poor stand be obtained and the beans be killed by frost long be- fore maturity, they are we'll worth I growing for the fertility they add to the soil and for the feed value of the immature plants. Seed is high this Iyear, but at present prices it will not cost more than 50 to 80 cents to iplant an acre. It will cost $3 to $4 an iacre this year to plant cowpeas and they do not improve the soil nearly as much as velvet beans.
 Do not make failure. Get seed . having strong germination; plant it as early as is safe and plant it shall low.
 Where Velvet Beans Will Grow.
 Velvet beans can be planted at a profit on every farm in Arkansas when planted as soon as danger from frost is over. The beans will make full growth in every part of the state, and in most years large pro- portion of the Early Speckled 90-day beans will reach maturity.
 The Early Speckled requires 120 to 140 days in which to mature and the Osceola l40 to 160 days. Bentonville lin the extreme northwestern part of the state, has the shortest grow ling season of any district in the state and has the highest elevation of any farming territory in the state. The United States Weather Bureau reports that the past 13 years the shorest time between killing frosts lhave been l65 days.
 Velvet beans have been tried by several farmers around. Bentonyille and have reached full growth, but were killed by frost before they ma 1 tured, They were planted in the mid- dle of May or later.
 Velvet beans make valuable feed when full grown, but not matured be.