The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-11-30

terest is being taken in bean culture
among some Southern farmers, judg-
ing from inquiries received bearing on
this crop, writes c. Q. McQuaine in
Florida Agriculturist. Beans are prob
ably Il more suitable crop to plant in
peach orchards than cowpea, owing to
the tendency of the cowpea propagat-
ing the root knot wherever it is grown.
Many peach orchards are to-day en-
tirely worthless from the ravages of
the root knot, all originating with cow
pea culture in the orchard. This OBJ
lection cannot be urged upon the navy
bean, because it is free of that ten
dency. and moreover, is fully as profit
able crop as cowpea. There is al
ways a demand for a good grade of
navy beans. They sell higher per
bushel. than cowpeas, and the yield per
acre is not less, and they will grow
and give a good account of themselves
on the sandiest of our pine wood lands,
and apart altogether from their use
in the grove or orchard as a farm
crop, they are hard to beat-for a profit
able and satisfactory return for time,
labor and fertilizer used. This crop
can be made a catch crop, coming in
between seasons, at is were; it is very
suitable for following an early spring
crop, such as wheat, oats or Irish
pbbsltONSB oil VI WlllCi NOlilC OlL III 4ddJ
and the beans can follow them and
give a good crop in from ninety to one
hundred days time.
After the beans have been secured
good cutting of hay can generally be
depended on from the same land. If
this crop is made to follow oats or any
of the small grain crops, then the
stubble must be carefully plowed I'M
der and the land made free and loose
so as to give good seed bed for the
bean crop. If it follows Irish potatoes,
the same rule holds good, only that the
potato crop will leave the soil in a
more mellow condition than a grain
crop, consequently the same attention
to the plOWing is not so necessary. l
have found this crop to do very we'll
succeeding a winter turnip crop, but
let the previous crop be what it may
proper attention TO the seed bed and
the fertilizer used are the prime essen
tials as a preliminary to a good and
profitable yield at harvesting. The fer
tilizing of the crop is really a very
important matter, because on the grade
used depends the quality and quantity
of the returns made. A perfect plant
food for the bean crop should analyze,
say, 6.per cent. phosphoric acid, 10 per
cent. potash and l or per cent. nitro
gen. This analysis cannot be found,
as far as l know of, in any of the
grades on the market to-day, therefore
the successful bean grower must either
compound his own fertilizer or buy the
nearest he can find and add the neces-
sary potash to bring up the grade to
the necessary point. This is not very
difficult to do, for ii is not really neces-
sary to mix the additional ingredient.
Applying it broadcast in the proper
ratio is all that is necessary; but care
must be taken that all the fertilizer
is properly mixed with the soil a few
days or a week before planting time.
This crop does best with considerable
attention by cultivation in it's early
stages, but it must not be cultivated
when the leaves are either wet with
dew or rain. The rows should be about
three feet apart and the seed well scat
tered in the furrow at planting. A peck
of seed should plant one acre. At har-
Vesting, the crops can be cut the same
as grain crops and tied in bundles
and shocked in the field until properly
cured, when it can be threshed when
ever convenient The leaves and stems
of the bean plant make a good forage
for cattle and horses. In fact, cattle
are quite partial to it, and it's feeding
value is high. In sections where the
crop is made speciality, a yield of
forty to fifty bushels per acre is not
uncommon, but in the South, if we get
the half of that amount we are doing
we'll, but by using about 800 pounds
per acre of a suitable fertilizer as al
ready indicated, one can reasonably
expect thirty to thirty-five bushels per
acre. and at . dollar and half per
bushel which is a low figure, there are
few farm crops that will pay any bet
ter than navy bean crop.