174 LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 



to allow cultivation. In drills six beans may be planted 

 to the foot, and the quantity of seed to be used per acre 

 whether sown in hills or drills, will be from one to three 

 bushels, according to the variety. 



583. The proper time for planting beans in the latitude 

 of New England, is between the 20th of May and the 10th 

 of June. Generally the best time is about the 1st of 

 June, but it varies a little, according to the nature of the 

 soil and the forwardness of the season. 



584. When the plants have formed their first full-sized 

 leaves, generally about the 20th of June, the crop should 

 be hoed for the first time with the hand-hoe, the horse- 

 hoe or the cultivator having previously been used between 

 the rows, if necessary. The best farmers prefer not to stir 

 the ground* with the plough if the weeds can be kept down 

 with the hoe. 



585. The character of the season makes a great differ 

 ence in the crop. Too much moisture causes the leaves 

 to grow with great luxuriance, and a very dry season 

 often stints the plant and prevents it from growing 

 vigorously. 



586. When the leaves shrivel and the pods turn yellow, 

 the crop shoidd be harvested, by pulling up the plants and 

 stacking them in some convenient place on the ground or 

 on rails. They will soon become dry, and should then be 

 taken to the barn and threshed out Unless perfectly 

 ripe and dry, they should be spread out and occasionally 

 turned till all moisture has passed off, so that there is no 

 longer any danger of injury from heating. 



587. The yield will vary from fifteen to thirty or forty 

 bushels per acre, according to the land and culture, and 

 the variety planted. The stalks are valuable as fodder 

 for sheep and horses. 



