Planting.—Beans are usually grown in drills. The distance between rows varies from twenty four to thirty-two inches ; it is usually twenty eight inches. The ordinary grain drill is used almost exclusively for planting, by stopping the tubes that are not needed. Special bean planters are sometimes used in planting large-seeded varie ties, as some of the grain drills will not handle these successfully.
The time of planting varies somewhat with the locality, but more especially with the variety of bean. The Kidney and Black Turtle-soup varieties require more time for development than the smaller beans and should be planted somewhat earlier. In New York, the Kidneys are usually planted in the last half of May, while the Pea and Medium varie ties should be planted June 5 to 20. The Marrows and Yellow-eyes come intermediate.
Very early planting of beans is not to be rec ommended. If placed in soil too cold or too wet for quick germination the seeds rot quickly, and even if a fair stand is secured the young plants do not get an even start. The strongest and best seeds start first under these unfavorable conditions and a little later some of the weaker seeds grow, resulting in a stand of plants of unequal size and vigor. This uneven start results in uneven ripening at harvest time,—one of the troubles of the bean grower. This trouble is not so likely to be met if the planting be deferred till the soil becomes warm and in a condition to favor rapid germination and vigorous growth.
Cultivation.— Beans come up quickly under favorable conditions, and cultivation may begin early. The young plants are tender and break easily at first, hence care is required in working among them. Some farmers use the weeder on the crop after the plants have formed several leaves, but this practice is of doubtful propriety, as any mutilation of the plants increases the liability to disease. Cultivators of various designs are used in the bean-fields ; the ordinary one-horse hand-cul tivator has been used chiefly in the past; but wheel tools cultivating two or more rows at a time are now in much favor. Tillage should be frequent enough to prevent weeds getting a foothold or a crust forming at the surface of the soil. Culti vation should not be given while the leaves are wet from dew or rain, as under these conditions disease spores are readily transferred from dis eased to healthy plants.
Varieties of field beans.
There are grown in the states seven or eight distinct varieties of commercial beans and some of these have several sub-varieties. These varieties are quite distinct from the vegetable or garden sorts that are grown for the canning factories or for sale in the green state. They may be named
as follows: the Pea varieties, including Marrow Pea bean, Boston Small Pea bean ; Medium bean (with sub-varieties of Day Leafless Medium, Blue-pod Medium, Burlingame Medium and White Wonder) ; White Marrow (with sub-variety Vineless Marrow); Red Marrow (which is probaoly a sub-variety of Red Kidney); Improved Yellow-eye, White Kidney, Red Kidney and Black Turtle-soup. The foci varieties constituting the bulk of the beans pro duced in New York are the Pea beans, the Mediums, the Red Kidney and the White Marrows, and in the order named. The others are grown in limited quantities. The White Marrow, Yellow-eye, and Red and White Kidney va rieties seem to require a stronger and more fertile soil to produce a satisfactory crop than do the Pea or Medium varieties. Data secured by the Cornell Station indicate that in their present state of fertility most New York soils will produce larger yields of the smaller white varieties than of the larger ones.
Harvesting.
Formerly beans were harvested by hand labor, but now this work is done chiefly by machinery. The bean harvester or cutter (Fig. 302) is a two-wheeled machine, hav ing two steel blades so adjusted that as the machine passes over the ground they sweep along just at or below the surface and cut the bean-stalks or pull them up. The blades are set obliquely, sloping backward and to ward one another, so that the two rows of beans which are pulled at one time are moved toward one another and left in a single row. Soon after the beans are pulled, men pass along with forks, throw ing them into small bunches ; or they are made intc bunches by the use of a horse-rake. After drying perhaps for one day, the bunches are turned and sc moved that three rows, as left by the puller, are made into one, leaving space between rows to drive through with wagons. if drying weather prevails, they will become fit for drawing and storing in the barns without further turning ; but if the providing the beans are not allowed to rest on the wet ground long at a time ; but the frequent turning necessary to prevent their taking harm involves considerable labor. When dry, they are stored in barns like bay and may be threshed at convenience. The threshing is done by specially constructed machines much like the ordinary grain-thresher. Some growers prefer to thresh with the old-fashioned flail, maintaining that the saving in beans that otherwise would be split, compensates for the slower work.