The Lamar register., 1896-06-06
Lima Beans.

EikF, WEttt5 Oh DSG&Ap lOtAOMEs
The Inns beans are natives of warm
countries. The large fat limas are per-
ennials. or at least plur-annuals, in
their native countries. They therefore
require long season. and one who ex-
poets to grow them in the north should
endeavor In every way to shorten the
Period OF growth. This may be done, in
the first place. by planting the earlier
varieties; and. in the second place, by
exercising great care in the selection
OF soil and In giving particular atten-
ton to cultivation. Light and so-caileo
quick" soils are best Soils which are
naturally sandy and loose, but which
have been enriched In previous years
by the addition of manure. are excel ent
Tor lima beans, especially II they have
warm exposure. The soil should also
be dry. Coarse, raw manure should be
avoided on Lima beans. because It tends
TO make too rank and too late growth
II any fertilizer is applied the year in
which the beans are planted. IL should
be such as viii become available very
quickly and therefore tend TO hasten
the maturity of the crop. We prefer.
therefore. to use some of the conoen-
trated fertilizers, especially those
which are rich in potash and phosphate
acid, and avoid those which contain
very much nitrogen. II heterogeneous fer
ulizers are used at all, they should be
applied in comparatively small amount
and be OF such kind that they will give
up their fertility early in the season.
IL ordinary stable manure is used. IL
should be applied In the fall In order
that II may become thoroughly incor-
porated with the soil and be ready for
use at the earliest moment in the
spring
Our lima beans were planted in 1895.
on the 3lst day of May. They might
have been planted few days earlier.
no doubt. with perfect safety II one
desires TO get his beans ahead very
early he can plant them in a forcing
house or coid-frame in pots or on in
yerted sods, or In refuse berry boxes.
about two weeks in advance of the time
they are TO be set out of doors. From
these reeeptacIes they can be trans
ferred easily to the ground. One of our
constituents says that he always
greases his lima beans thoroughly with
"ItI uf hitAnAH tAAN 80 SHStN
by able to plant his crop week or ten
days ahead OF the usual time. because
the grease preserves the beans from rot
ting. We have not tried this method
and do not know what value II has. 1t
Is an easy matter TO transplant lima
beans, even when they are not grown
In pots or boxes. II the ground is moist
when they are taken up SO that large
lump of earth adheres to the roots and
II the weather is somewhat humid fol-
lowing the transfer. But. In spite of all
that can be done, nearly every variety
OF the large lima beans will fail to ma
t1re Its full crop in the north before
frost. II half the pods which the vines
have set should mature before frost
Gomez. the grower may feel that he has
been very successful. The green pods
which remain al frost time. II the beans
are partially grown, can be picked, the
beans sheiled out and dried. and these
can be used in the winter time to as
good advantage as IL they were thor
oughly ripe. II these dried beans are
soaked in water for some time before
they are cooked, they are scarcely in
ferior to green beans directly from the
vine.
Soil for Pears.-It Is generally un-
derstood that pears need very rich
soil. Yet 1t is an unsettled question
whether the soil should be enriched