Nebraska advertiser., 1866-11-29

Castor Beans will do well 10 almost
any soil that will produce good wheat or
corn, but a dry sandy loan is preferable.
Prepare The ground the same as for corn.
A good fall blowing Then spring cross
blowing and narrowing pays bes. e
the land IS Inclined 10 be yet, the ground
should be left with a dead furrOwfO every
twenty feet for drainage.
The ground should be laid of in rows
five feet each way, leaving to every sixth
row one wide enough to admit of a team
passing through tOIgather the beans as
they ripen. The seed should be soaked
in hot water-not boiliDg-twentY-four
hours previous to planting, the hot water
to be only once applied and allowed
to cool. This assists them to terminate
early. As the cut-worm sometimes de-
stroy many of the young plants, many
farmers plant a proportion of dry seed,
so that in case the first crop is destroyed
by the worm the dry seed coming latter
will be terminating and save the neees-
sity Of re-planting. The seed should be
| planted as soon as all danger of frost is
passed, as they are as tender to frost as
the common bean. In this section 1t
would not be safe TO plant until after the
fret of May. A1half bushel will plant
eight or Ten acres, giving from eight to
ten seeds to the hill, which is about the
number which should be planted.
It's culture consists mainly in keeping
down the weeds and keeping the soil dry
and loose. To do this it should be seve-
raj times pIowed over with a c~ullyator
or small plow both ways. 1t is also well
to use the hoe upon weeds which cannot
be reached with the pillow. Thorough
cultureis necessary to a good crop. AT
ter the plants are a foot high they should
be thinned out to not more than two in a
hill. and many farmers leave but One.
When the plant isltwo feet high it may
be safely left to itself, as it grows very
fas! and thrifty. fea5s
The beans begin to ripen in August,
and ripen gradually from that time until
frost. The pods must be gathered from
time to time as soon as they begin to turn
brown, or else the beans pop out on the
ground. This can be done by driving in
the wide rows with a wagon and cutting off
those which are beginning toturu, repeat
ing this every third or fourth day as they
seem to ripen.
A space of ground is then cleared on
a south hill side, just s~lanting enough to
get the full heat of the sun ; this should
be rolled down hard as possible and wide
boards placed on their edge around the
plat cleared to prevent the beans pop.
ping outside the clearing. Here the
pods are placed, the heat of the sun dry
ing the pods the beans pop out, are then
gathered sacked and ara ready for mar
ket. The. pods should BE turned occa'
siOnally; the beans shoqAd<be guarded
against rain as it blackeRs and 10 some
extent damages them.
The yield averages from fifteen to
twenty bushels to the acre. We are not
advised as 10 the present price, but the
scarcity car be estimated from the fact
that last Spring we wrote for q friend to
Plant & Bro, st. Louis, to obtain seed
and the reply was t-ere nom in that
market, that the last sale they had made
was at $3.50 per bushel and at that they
could not fill our bill before planting time.
For the past three years they have rang
ed from $500 to $500 per bushel.
1t is one of the most fertilizing crops
that can be planted, eastern farmers esti-
mate this benefit at several dollars per
acre. Another great advantage in Ne
braska would be-and this fact has been
demonstrated in Illinois and other prair-
lie countries-the driving away of that
greatest of pests, 20 the prairie farmer,
the Gopher. This in itself would seem
to US a great inducement to plant a small
patch IN or around an orchard wherein
GOphers delight to work. The crop we
believe will pay in many respects. sa
Il Response TO the Donation Party who
viSited tie tn iter on the ED Of No.
lUcmbey, Il. d. 1885,:
MY DEAN FRIENDs-In writing this
response, / not only do myself a real
pleasure but discharge, in some measure.