The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1908-11-05


brand Of baked beans In other parts o
the United States the demand has grow,
even faster. especially IN the large cities
Altogether the country consumed neari,
eleven and half million dollars worth
OF canned beans In 1907.
Labals by the Mile
The labels which were used to cover the
cans. II spread out side by side and end
to end, would cover nine square miles. the
area of good sized city. II laid end to
end in single strip they would reach
half way around the earth At the equator.
or five times across the continent from
New York to San Francisco
The cans piled end on end would make
twentysi1 thousand Excl towers, and
enough would be iert over to mako five
hundred Washington monuments.
Tremendous as these figures may seem
there IL plenty of room for the growth o.
the canned bean industry. TIE Whole fac
tory output OF baked beans each year
makes only four meals for each man.
woman and child in the Uuitsd States
The United States Department Of Agricui-
lure and the best food dietetic erperSs
agree that the ordinary diet OF tie aver
age man might prohtah,y include 81
ounces of beans each day
In many areas In Michigan ard New
York, the two chief bean producing
states. beans havs become as much 4
staple crop a. ~as wheat = euartes Of
rentury ago. From a. ssoaortc yss.d
point II h . valuable addition to ii. c-ur
rotation Of any region because Of II. .As7t
shat beans improve the land upon =hlca
they are grown II for no othsr rsasou
ahan this the growing OF the held oeSz. IL
rotation with wheat would b. an a6vsr
tage. To the Michigan and New York
Mariners OF late Year,. however. the be.n
crop has been more remuns-srive thar
wheat and has taken the place Of vh.a.
aargeay for this reason
Elsewhere thsre Is more profit 10 u.
farmer In raising beans than can b. -
pressed b. tia immediate return. In aos
:iars ana Giants. Bean growing Is a cheso
ana osrtaan form OF crop Insurance In
stead of exhaustins the soil sxtrae.irs
the elements Of fertility, as does wheat
and corn. the bean family has the mar
Vicious faculty of enriching the ground
Tho leaves and tendrils of the bean plant
not only breathe tie air for their own
hourishrnent. but they absorb the precious
nitrogen from the atmosphere and In
yocrlate the soil with It. Therefore m.
bean belongs to one OF the most inn
portant families of economic plants which
man has discovered
Importance Of the Bean.
While there 70 great variety Of,
plants belonging TO the pulse family OF
which the bean is a member, varytnS IN
size from low annual plants to tall. broad
spreading trees. there are few members
OF this group which possess greater
economic Importance than does the bean ;.
says the United STATED Department OF
Agriculture. Besides furnishing whole
some. nourisf,ing food for man and 70,
animals. this group OF plants provides the
'sgriculturtst with a means OF sec,r,py
from the great store OF nitrogen in the
air by tho use OF one OF its member, in
the crop rotation of his farm a suf,cten,
quantity Of nitrogen to replenisb that
taken from the soil by other AGRICULTURAL
srops Not all leeuninous plants provide
1000 for both man and beast ana al tia
ZANE time increase the fertilit, Of the eo,,
spon which they grow. The bean how