Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-08-05

whether they be green or dried. An
imaginative man as well as a scientist,
he sees in the bean the wars of the past
and the philosophy Of the centuries.
The human race. 1t is said. originated
at q certain place. Thence 1t spread un-
til It covered the earth. White men
and red. black men and yellow. traced
backward far enough. center in one
Man, then. after all. is local. The bean.
however, is universal. Its home is
where it grows and 1t grows almost
everywhere, except in the precincts of
the north pole 1t is a native of India
and Japan. and also of the United
States and Europe.
As subject the bean, therefore, is
worthy of the study and sentiment of
Prof Corbett's best moods He does not
idealize or personalize it, initiating
other men who overendow their ia
vorite animals or vegetables. but he
believes that the invincible bean put
down the civil war. whipped Spain in
1898 and is now beating the Huns
Up to 1851" he said to the writer,
Deans were not used much in this
country on the table. Railroads, fifty
seven years ago. were crude, and found
1t dificult to supply the Federal armies
with guns. ammunition and clothing,
ana bulk was eliminated so far as pos
siole in the matter of food
Beans, with pork. are very nourishing.
and northern quartermasters began buy
ing them and shipping them to the SOL
diers- When, at the close of the war. the
soldiers returned to their homes their
appetite for beans. created in camp and
on the march, soon made itself felt in the
market. There was a demand for bea ms
and farmers began growing them The
bean industry was esta blished by the civil
war. as was the industry in light-c olored
smoking tobacco. Union soldiers found
they liked and which they tried to buy
after the war closed
"A Confederate soldier, riding a blind
mule and having so cents in his pocket,
traVeied back to North Carolina after
Lee surrendered at Appomattox and be-
gan cultivating and curing the particular
kind Of tobacco that the Federal soldiers
nad found 30 satisfactory. His business
grew and he became a millionaire. The
son OF this man organized the largest to-
bacco company in existence. with branches
In Great Britain and in other parts Of
the world.
Beans made no miilionaires, but they
increased the prosperity of farmers in
the north and in time became a valuable
crop throughout the south. The men in
blue and the men in gray, while fighting
one another, joked about beans and sang
humorous songs about them, and also
oooHe Aoi poIh, Dut IDeys kne" the 1000
value OF both and the dietary habits they
acquired as soldiers were not given UP
when peace was restored
The soldiers of the regular army have
eaten beans for years. They ate great
quantities of them during the Spanish
war and on the Mexican border and are
eating them now in France. British and
French soldiers are living on them. and
the American product. at that. When
the banners of democracy are seen float
ing all over the world It will be well to
remember the part that the bean has
taken in behalf Of the people in their
battle with kings and emperors and their
divine rights
The acreage in beans a half century
ago was small. 1t has been growing, how
ever. from decade to decade The yield
last year on 945. 900 acres was SS46 900
bushels. as against a2s. 900 acres in 1918
and crop that totaled II, 321, 900 bushels.
Many foreign buyers were in the mar
ket last season bidding for crop that
was 1.s55.oo0 bushels less than the crop
Of the previous year. The farm value of
beans. therefore, Increased from $3.50 a
bushel in 1915 to s5.0s a bushel in 1916.
Farm value means the price that the
grower receives. Very few consumers
bought beans even for So q bushel. The
price mounted higher and higher as