Arizona republican., 1911-07-14
MEXICAN FRUOLE
HISTORY OF THE BEAN
Its Successful Cultivation in This
Territory.

In the Mesa department Of The Re
publican. a few days ago, there APP
. peared an article on pink beans, based
! on the inquiry Of a Los Angeles man
for further information concerning
the bean and the probability of the
successful cultivation of it i'm that re
gion The following response comes
from Secretary +. p. GrindeI of the
Douglas Chamber of Commerce and
Mines.
The history of the 'frijole, or pink
, bean is clouded in doubt Technic-
ally, it is recorded as the legumino.
seae. phaseolus,' and il is thought
10 be a native of South America
1t was introduced into Europe in the
sixteenth century by those hardy adj
venturers from Spain, who lost no op-
pOrtunity To carry back To their native
land any seed that gave promise Of
adding To the worlds storehouse of
foods
1t is not strange that the frijole
bean has, during the past few years.
taken such hold upon the fancy
OF the farmers of the east and the
tongues Of the southwest. for the fri
jOle, on analysis becomes a strong
factor in the building Of muscle and
bone. Chemically, il comprises the
following constituents: Water, i 6 per
cent: protein, 22.5; nitrogen, 29.G;
ether extract, Is; ash, 30. The food
value Of one pound Of frijole beans
is equal TO 1905 calores, and when
eaten by man 90 per cent of its dry
f4r il al Of ~,
protein, sc per cent of the nitrogen /
free extract and so per cent Of the |
ether extract II will thus be seen I
that the frijole is a food of most valu- /
able properties, supplying in heavy |
the nourishment that goes /
to support mankind in the field Of toll. /
The amount of hard labor that a .
Mexican pcOn can DO in a day, nour- l
ished only by a pot of frijoles and !
the ever present tortilla, is the mar
vel Of the American along the Mexican A
borderland: the figures just quoted in II
the foregoing in a way reply to this
Yonderment, for IN that pot of frijoles II
$ Incorporated more strength and en- II
luraRce than would be present in a
neal of varied viands. beginning with
soup and ending with a sweet pas
ry.
In the Sulphur Springs valley.
'ochise county, Arizona. the farmers
nave been opening their eyes To the
-alue of the frijole as a profitable
.rop, and there is now or the land in
his rich valley a heavy stand of
leans of the frijole variety, which
viii harvest on the average, 1000
pounds to the acre.
"Of all the crops grown in the Sui
blur Springs valley ana other parts of
Southern Arizona the frijole bean is.
the simplest in its need of
ulture. In MANY cases the ground is :
,rcken with the first rain Of the sum
mel. season. and the seed beans plant !
d i'm rows, three feet apart, in the }
moist soil, about 80 pounds To the
ere, and the summer rains mature
he crop in 60 days. If the ground is ]
roken earlier in the season and some |
moisture is conserved i'm the soil. and d
he crop kept cultivated. a better yield {
.ill be gotten, if one or two irriga- /
ions, from a pumping plant or ditch. c
till be given the crop. a bumper crop I
; assured a
In the Sulphur Springs valley, which I
Gems To be the home of the frijole !
can in the southwest, the best results u
re had by planting about the second a
eek in July, rather than late i'm June, D
s many are inclined to do. If there l
plenty Of moisture i'm the soil when
ne beans are planted the plants will E
tart in with a vigorous growth and Z
asult in strong, healthy vines, with a {
God yield Many of the settlers in a
ne Sulphur Springs valley divert the "
God water and thus get an irrigation o
yer the plants. The rich, heavy.
andy loan of the Sulphur Springs il
alley seems particularly adapted to 6
le growth Of the frijole bean, as re- o