252 AGRICULTURK OF MAINE. 



we do not have a tool that will do the work, we make one. We 

 took our weeder and put a piece of plank on ahead, then took 

 the spring teeth from the American cultivator — they are not 

 shaped like the regular spring teeth — and put those on. Our 

 rows were so even we could put them on and run over the rows 

 and not disturb the beans. Instead of using the pointed teeth 

 we turned them down, and they scraped the surface of the 

 ground and turned the witchgrass over, and the little teeth com- 

 ing on behind, made it look smooth and light and nice. 



We found we could go over three rows at a time, if planted 

 3I/2 feet apart, as we plant it. It is slow work going over one 

 row at a time. The way we had this arranged, the weeder teeth 

 were held up somewhat behind, and they barely scraped the 

 surface without going to any depth. 



Most of you who ever raised any beans know that it is a back- 

 aching job to pull them. We always did that by hand until this 

 year. I have talked with a number of men about the question, 

 and a man who came from Michigan this summer said he 

 thought a bean harvester would work well here. We have a 

 good many cobblestones, and I supposed a harvester had to be 

 sharp enough to cut the beans off. We finally ordered a har- 

 vester, and it did very good work indeed. We took our horses, 

 and pulled two rows at a time. As we had several acres it was 

 ■quite a saving. This machine is made with two plates that run 

 outside the rows and cut them and draw them together between 

 the rows. Of course, there are more or less stones mixed with 

 them, but we had two men following behind the machine who 

 pulled two rows in toward two more ; we did not pull them quite 

 together in the first place, but after they were dry enough to 

 turn over we put four rows in one windrow. That gave us a 

 chance to drive between the windrows and pitch them on to the 

 wagon. 



If you plant the yellow-eyed beans there will be white and 

 iDlack beans. With a little practice you can tell them by the 

 growth. I go ahead of the pullers and pull out all the black 

 and white beans. This year we threshed between 30 and 40 

 b)ushels before I found a black bean. I find in doing that, and 

 selecting the seed carefully, I reduce the number of black and 

 white beans. The yellow-eyed beans usually stand upright. 

 The black and white beans that grow from the yellow eyes, tip 

 .over, and the pods that have the black and white beans in them 



