The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1918-01-11
GneAUN6LE 6eAN Is
HELPING oWIN tie war
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longer cheap. For plant
Ing, they cost the farmer this sea-
son from $40 to SD Il bushel The
food price ut retail Is consider
ably higher. Therefore, it becomes
no man to refer lrreverently to
the bean, whether Il be red, white,
black or mottled, or whether 1t be
baked, boiled or made into soup.
Professor Corbett, although horti-
culturist by profession, knows more
about beans than anyone else in the
country We may accept his state
ment, therefore that the bean, which
grows practically everywhere except
at the North pole, Is going 10 play n
large part in helping To bring Ger
many TO terms. He says 1t was the
bean that put down the Civil war, and
then whipped Spain in 1898. So why
shouldn't it make as fine II record in
the present conflict?
Previous to 1861, according to Pro
fessor Corbett, beans were not much
used in this country on the table-bar-
ring, perhaps, the city of Boston. At
that time our railroads were very
crude and they found ii almost impos-
sible to keep the federal armies sup
piled with guns ammunition and cloth
ing. so in the matter of food bulk was
eliminated as far as possible. Beans,
being light in weight and, moreover
very nourlShing, made an ideal food
under the conditions prevailing, so the
Northern quartermasters began to buy
them in large quantities and ship them
to the soldiers at the front
The soldiers waxed strong on beans I;
likewise their taste for them grew
amazingly, so that when the war was
over and they returned to their homes,
they asked for beans. Thus market
was created, where no market existed
before, and farmers began TO grow
them. The bean industry, therefore,
may be said TO have been created by
the Civil war. While beans made no
milionalres, they increased the pros
berity of farmers In the North and in
time became n valuable crop through
out the South.
For years beans have formed one of
The principal articles Of fOcd for the
soldiers in our regular army. During
"a nna n
titles of them, down on the Mexican
Border they did the same thing, and
now in France the story is being re-
pested. It is not only our troops, how
EVER, that are being fed on beans.
British and French soldiers are living
on them, and the American product, at
that. When autocracy has been con
ouered and democracy rules the world,
credit should be given TO the bean for
rhe part 1t has played in bringing
aboxt such a condition.
Fifty years ago the acreage in beans
IN this country was small, but 1t has
been growing steadily. Last year 95O,-
600 acres were planted to beans, the
yield being S,900,O00 bushels. The 1918
crop did better, 92S,OOO acres yielding
something like 10,0O0,000 bushels. Last
year there were a good many foreign
BUYERS in the market, and this fact,
roupled with the smaller crop, caused
the farm price of beans to jump from
$3.50 Il bushel in 1915 to $500 bushel
In 1916.
Farm value means the price that
che grower receives. Very few, if any,
consumers bought beans even for Sc
n bushel. AS the stock disappeared
from the market the price mounted
higher and higher. 1t might be sup
posed. then, that the acreage this year
would break all previous records. But
with seed selling as high as Sl2 a
bushel. or 20 cents pound, nnd
mighty little at even such unheard-of
nrices, farmers preferred to take a
chance on some other crop with which
they were more familiar.
Reans are planted late in the spring
after the ground gets warm. The crop
Is easily cultivated aDd readily shipped
nnd stored. Under average conditions,
Weld of ten to fifteen bushels per
mere can be expected in most states.
THE greatest amount of labor Is need
cd at harvest time. On account OF the
lack of special bean machinery, eXpe-
rience in handling the crop and the
labor market, it is probably deslr-
able policy for many to grow smali
screapes rather than for few to at
tempt large acreages.
The navy or pea bean is the leading
commercial variety of dry beans. 1t is
also called the soup bean. The demand
for this variety is well established
point which is much in the growers
favor. 1t is also probably the most
nrolific variety under most conditions.
n is listed under various trade names.