BEANS 223 



any time from the middle of May to the first of August 

 and with good prospects of a good crop of green pods 

 even at the latter date. Some kinds have edible pods 

 in less than six weeks after the seed is sown. 



Harvesting Beans. For use in a green state, the pods 

 of some kinds of beans are picked as soon as large enough 

 to use and when they are tender and fresh ; in other cases 

 the beans are used when still fresh, but not until they are 

 large enough to shell from the pods. Field beans are 

 harvested by being pulled by hand or gathered with a bean 

 gatherer when they are ripe, laid in rows until dry enough 

 for threshing, then threshed at once or stored for threshing 

 later on. Great care should be taken in storing the pods 

 to prevent molding of the beans, and in threshing not to 

 break the beans. In a small way beans may be threshed 

 out by hand, but on a large scale any common threshing 

 machine may be used, providing suitable changes are 

 made in it so it will not break the beans. 



Varieties of Bush Beans. There are many varieties of 

 bush beans having desirable qualities, but only a few of 

 the most valuable are mentioned here: 



Field Beans. White Marrow, Burlingame Medium, 

 Navy, and Snowflake. 



Waxen Podded Beans. Dwarf Golden Wax and Dwarf 

 Black Wax. 



Shell and String Beans. Yellow Six Weeks, Early 

 Mohawk, Cranberry, and Dwarf Horticultural. 



Japanese, Soy, or Soja Beans. These are easily grown, 

 but on account of their inferior quality are not much used 

 here. 



Dwarf Lima beans are highly esteemed by those who 

 know them, and although smaller in size than the pole 

 Limas are supplanting them in some sections and are 



