Cultivation of Arable Land. Beans. Methods offowing. 77 



And in the annexed plate is a bean drill the invention of Mr. Amos, which 

 Mr. Young has recommended as having much merit. It delivers the beans in 

 a different manner from many others, as it fcatters the feed on the flice of the 

 preceding furrow, while they moftly drop it into the furrow. It has been exten- 

 fively employed by the inventor; and on wet lands mud be highly ufeful, by 

 depofiting the feed while the land is ploughing, and thereby preventing the ne- 

 ceflity of going a fecond time upon it, which is often injurious. 



The drilling of this fort of crop is performed at different diftances, as from 

 twelve to twenty- four inches. The practice in Suffolk is frequently twelve, but 

 which on good land is too near, as the ftems are drawn up weak and without pods- 

 below. Eighteen inches is a more proper diftance.. In Kent fourteen and 

 fixteen inches are in ufe by many cultivators. The diflance fhould however 

 vary with the nature of the land, the largefl being given where the foil is the 

 richeft. Mr. Young mentions a particular cuflorn in Berkfhire, which is that of 

 planting them in clutters of four or five beans in a hole, at the diflance of nine 

 inches, the fpaces between the rows being proportioned to the goodnefs of the 

 land. In this way they have large and productive crops. 



In the fowing of this fort of crop, experiment has ihewn that, on the poor 

 and more moift kinds of loamy foils broken up from the ftate of ley, it may fre 

 quently be more advantageous to put the beans into the ground in rows at nine 

 inches, or on every furrow, than at eighteen inches or every other furrow, though 

 on rich fertHe tillage lands the latter may often be the moil proper, or even ftill 

 larger diftances in forne cafes,* 



From the nature of the root of the bean plant, it has been inferred, that it 

 fhould conftantly be planted to a good depth in the foil, not lefs than five or fix 

 inches below the fettled furface of the land, as by the lateral fibres which con- 

 ftantly pafs off from the portion of root above the feed to the upper part of the 

 ground, large fupplies of nourifhment may be conveyed to the plants, which 

 could not be the cafe when put in/ more fuperficially, as that part of the root 

 below the feed is not furnifhed with fuch fibres. f 



The putting in of this kind of feed by the drill is a practice that may be per 

 formed wifh the rnoft benefit and fuccefs on the drier and more mellow kinds 

 ef bean lands that have been fome time in a ftate qf cultivation ; but on the 



* Young s Annals of Agriculture, vol. VII. p. 204. 



i Vancouver, in Annals of Agriculture, vol. XXV, p, &amp;lt;J5, 



