Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-04-05
mon AND AMERICAN
Farm AND GARDEN.
NAVY BEANS.

There is no crop grown ia our climate
which could be made more remuneratiyt
to the far ner than The Navy bean Always
Commanding good price with an active
demand, containing about 81 per cent Of
nutritious matter and being an admirable
winter vegetable, they supply want which
no other farm product is able 10 meet.
There is said to be no other food on which
men can do so much and such hard work.
They are therefore most popular diet with
all the laboring classes, and for that reason
wiil always be an article Of profit to the
farmer and viii grow in demand.
The Navy bean loves a strong,
rich loan and will thrive wherever wheat
or corn viii do well. The plant is a vigor-
Gus grower, inclined to send up running
shoots. The best time for planting is about
the 18th of April for our latitude. Planted
too early the cool mornings engender a
species of rust on the leaves, which makes
the plants slow in getting a start. They
may be planted in drills two aud half feet
apart, the seeds being dropped in groups,
four or FIVE together, eighteen inches apart.
About twenty quarts viii suffice to plant an
acre.
The culture is the same as that for peas.
Keep them free from weeds and grass and
the ground well stirred until the blossoms
begin to appear-which viii be seven or
eight weeks after planting. Be sure not to
work them when wet as the same disease
is induced as when planted too early.
The best method of harvesting is to take
a scythe and begin to cut just as the best
pods are little turned. Drive stakes in
the ground and after laying brush around
the stakes, stack the vines in the same man
ner as the vines Of ground peas
are stacked, never making the
stack more than three feet in
diameter. Cap off with straw, or hay, and
let them remain until thoroughly dry.
When dry they may be beat out with a
fail. Many persons prefer pulling up the
vines. This method is Objectionable, ex-
cept in sandy soils, on account of the dirt
which Sits amongst and sticks TO the beans,
making them less marketable.
The yield per acre varies from twenty to
thirty bushels en- good soils and are worth,
at present, in the Nashville market from
wagons about two dollars and a half per
bushel, and sell from store at three dollars.
The true Navy bean is ivory white, ovoid
or egg-shaped, with fattened sides, about
seven sixteenths of an inch long and one
quarter of an inch the broad width and
three-sixteenths the narrow.
In selecting seeds for planting, great care
should be taken to get those which have
not been bored with the weevil. They may
terminate, and the plant may appear above
ground, but they never thrive, and invaria-
bly, disappOint expectations. a bean, says
the Mobile Register, in speakingOfth this sub
ject, is divided into two parts or halves
or rather, as we might say, three parts;
two outer paris called Cotyledons by bota-
nists, and the third or inner part called the
PlumuIe. The latter is the living part Of
the seed-the embryo plant-while the two
former are little hampers of food which it
carries with it on its journey up out of the
ground, and from which it must draw its
supplies until old enough to agean: or, in !
other words, until it has grown large enough |
and strong enough TO take its sustenance !
from other sources. So, we see, if in its |
course the weevil happens to destroy the
Pllupule, there can be no plant; but if il |
misses this and confines its work to the |.
CotyIedOns, plant may grow, but it will |
be starved and runted in proportion to the |
q quantity Of matter removed by the insect.
We should be pleased to hear from some
of our farming friends on this subject after
experimenting with the crop. We are sat
isfied that Oh good land, with a good sea
son, from twenty to forty dollars clear profit |
may be realized, at present prices, from
their culture. We should not advise tobac-
co growers to plant full crop Of beans,
inasmuch as the housing of both crops
come together.