Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-03-20
CULTIVATION OF WHITE BEANS.


YORK, LIVINGSTON COUNTY; n. Y,
Feb. lS.-Haying noticed several in
quiTies in the Gazette in regard to the
cultivation of beans, 1 thought that if
i should give our method of cultivation
1t might be of use to some. This is a
bean raising section Of country, and
has been so for fifteen or twenty years,
beans having taken the place Of the
wheat crop to quite an extent at the
time that the weevil made its appear
ance. There has been shipped from LIE
Roy, n. Y, for the last three years,
about fifty thousand bushels annually.
And that town is only one Of the places
of shipment. Some farmers cultivate
In beans as high as sixty acres a year.
Beans viii grow on any soil that is
dry enough to raise wheat, and land
that will produce a good crop of wheat
Will generally produce a good crop of
beans. Wet land is an uncertain place
to plant them in, although even there
they may do well in a very dry season.
The crop was injured materially in this
section the past season by wet weather,
which came on about the middle of July.
Sod land Is preferable to stubble
ground, such being more easily kept
clean, and usually producing a better
crop. In field of stubble ground,
which we planted last year, there was
small piece of sod, and here the beans
did not seem at all injured by the wet
weather, and the crop was third larger
than on each side of it.
IT,. = IL. 1900 -.
for corn. If the land is not good, it
should be enriched by manure. But if
manure is applied to very rich land, it
induces too large a growth Of vines,
and they do not pod as well. For plant
ing we use almost exclusively here a
machine manufactured in Rockport. n.
Y, which does its work almost perfect
ly-so much so that after some fifteen
years Of use 1t has not been changed in
one essential point. Its operation is
similar to some Of your patent Western
corn planters, planting two rows at
once, % inches apart and dropping
four or five beans in hills one foot apart
in the row. In this way the bean
stalks are more convenient to pull
than when the beans are dropped con-
tinuously along the drills. In other re-
spects a drill would do about as well to
plant with. A man with this machine
and one horse will plant daily from
eight to ten acres; and l have seen
twelve acres a day planted. After
planting, especially if the weather is
dry, roll, the ground; then We some
times pass over the ground with a hoe,
and cover those beans that are left I'M
covered. The amount of seednesessary
to plant an acre is, for navy Tor as they
are commonly called pea" beans) one
half Il bushel; fOrmediums, about three
pecks; and for marrows, one bushel.
Some plant little more than this; but
the above quantity Will give from four
to five beans to a hill, and from our ex-
perience this number Is better than
more. AS soon as the bean plants are
large enough, begin to cultivate and
keep down the weeds; but neUer aCork
among them lohen they are lCet, Us the
dirt viii make them rust. Neither
should they be cultivated much after
the blossoms are out, for fear
such working should have a tenden-
cy to blight them. When ripe
enough to pull, begin on the third
row, and pull till you have what
you can conveniently hold in your
hand. Now set these down ON the tops,
with the roots up, and squeeze the roots
together after you set them down.
They will then stay together and not
fall down. Set the two rows on each
side on this row. In this way you can
drive through and load conveniently.
A few days of good weather viii make
them fit to 50 into the barn. The value
of the crop depends very much ON the
condition in which they are secured.