La Junta tribune., 1917-09-06
-FOUR SQUARE MILES or BEANS
II Is Eight Mile. Around ard Was
Native Prairie Sod-Plowcd and
Harvested by Machinery

DR.. Charles L. Rea. Of Kansas
City. has. growing In Stanton county.
Southwestern Kansas, on the border
Of Colorado. this season, four square
miles. or 1850 acres. Of pinto beans.
The Pinto Is the Mexican variety
Of the bean family. and u grown
widely. without artificial irrigation.
In Mexico. and in the semi-arid re-
gion OF the United States. II II
dry weather plant. which, In the
Southwest. never fails to produce
crop.
Before the war oversee created
such an increased demand for food.
pinto beans sold for from four to
six cents per pound; but now that
the allies are paying fabulous prices
for food. beans are beans. and are
quoted in the market reports to be
worth twelve cents in Kansas City.
A fair crop In the Southwest II 500
pounds per acre.
Dr. Rea's bean field. In Stanton
county. Ia the greatest patch Of beans
ever planted in Kansas. II Is eight
miles around. and was native prairie
sod. until broken for this bean plan
tation In April. this year. In May
and June the land was narrowed,
dragged and planted. Early in July
the seed came up aid now the field
presents a magnificent spread Of un-
broken bean rows a mile long.
The work OF breaking. narrowing.
dragging and planting was done by
machinery drawn by gasoline tract
ors. The tractors on DIR. Rea's place
are OF 30-foot beam. drawing six
plows, six harrows. six drags and
six planters. He had seven Of these
In his field last spring. Next spring
he will have fourteen; for he pro-
poses to double the area OF the plan
tation. DR.. Rea has not q horse.
or other beast OF burden. on the
place.
| Speaking OF his enterprise to . re-
porter OF the Kansas City Journal.
DR.. Rca said: planting this field
kept two tractors going day and
night, and planted as many as 100
acres in twenty-four hours. Allow
ing for delay caused by rain while
planting. this operation required
about three weeks. This Ii what Is
called a sod crop and no cultivation
is necessary. The pinto bean takes
very deep root, and two good rains
in a season. even weeks apart. will
insure crop.
THE crop will be harvested by
machinery. Two tractors. each
drawing six harvesters. will be used
! will run these day and night and
expect to cut about eighty acres
day. The machines will lay the bean
bushes In windrows. after cutting
them close to the ground. where
they will be left two days to cure.
Two other tractors. each drawing
three wagons. behind which will be
attached hay leaders. will follow In
time. These will clear about eighty
acres day and take the beans to
the thresher. which Ia expected TO
thresh about $4,000 pounds. or one
carload Of beans = day. II will re-
Quire more than 10000 l00-pound
sacks to handle the entire crop
THE beans sacked and shipped.
We. will have left for stock feed q
erest quantity Of bean-hay. say 1.?s0
tens. worth. on the ranch. IS per
ton. We will feed this to cattle this
winter. Following the bean harvest.
We will plant wheat on the same
ground this fall. drilling the seed
In by tractors. II the wheat fails.
we will plant the ground with beans
again next spring. Next spring also
We will plant. probably. eight sec
tions Of sod land with beans.
Following the harvest We expect
70 load one car on the Santa fe. at
Syracuse. daily. until the entire crop
is disposed Of. II will 10 to the
Kansas City market. We are thirty
miles south Of Syracuse. and one
tractor hauls six ordinary wagons.
In this work we viii use more than
one tractor. Of course. and by get
ting an early start. the round trip
may bc made between breakfast and
supper. We expect TO take ou, the
crop Of 1918 on . branch Of the San
IN Fe's Dodge City extension. which