Book VI. THE BEAN. 769 



they are dry, and pu t up in sacks for use : but particular care should be taken not to let 

 them remain too long abroad after they are ripe ; as wet would rot them ; and heat, after 

 a shower of rain, make their pods burst in such a manner that the greater part of their 

 seeds would be lost. 



4763. The diseases of pease are few, and chiefly the worm in the pod and the fly on the 

 leaves and flower. They are also liable to be mildewed or blighted. None of these 

 evils, however, are very common ; and there is no known way of preventing them but 

 by judicious culture. 



Sect. II. The Bean. Vicia Faba, L. Diad. Decan. L. and Leguminoset^, J. 

 Feve de marais, Fr. ; Bohn, Ger. ; and Fava, Ital. 



4764. The bean is a valuable field plant, as affording food for live stock, and in part for 

 man. It is said to be a native of Egypt ; but, like other long domesticated plants, its 

 origin is very uncertain. It has been cultivated in Europe ami Asia time out of mind : 

 beans have been long known in Britain, but it is only of late years that they were exten- 

 sively cultivated upon general soils, being formerly considered as adapted only to rich 

 and moist clays. At that time they were all sown according to the broad-cast system ; 

 in which way, instead of benefiting the ground, they were of incalculable detriment. 

 Weeds got away at the outset, and, in dry seasons, often ruined the crop ; whilst in every 

 season, the grass or perennial weeds, which happened to be in the ground, increased in 

 strength and in quantity, the openness of the bean crop at bottom allowing them to thrive 

 without interruption. 



4765. The drilling of beans with a small mixture of pease is now become a general 

 practice in every well cultivated district, more particularly in those where soil and cli- 

 mate permit the practice to be successfully executed. In this way not only heavy crops 

 are raised, but, what is of great importance, the ground is kept constantly in good order, 

 provided suitable attention is bestowed upon the cleaning process. This is generally 

 carried on by horse-hoeing the crop at different times, so long as the hoe can be used 

 without doing damage ; and in this way, an able auxiliary is brought forward to the 

 assistance of summer fallow, whereby less stress need be laid upon that radical process 

 than otherwise would be indispensably necessary. (^Brown.) 



4766. The varieties of the bean may be included under two general heads, the white or 

 garden beans, and the grey or field beans. Of the white beans sown in the fields, the 

 Mazagan and long-pod are almost the only sorts. Of the grey beans, that known as 

 the horse-bean, the small or ticks, and the prolific or Heligoland, are the chief sorts. 

 New varieties are procured in the same manner as in other plants. 



4767. In the choice of sorts, tick beans are supposed by some farmers to be more pro- 

 ductive than horse-beans ; but the latter grow higher in the stem, and produce a more 

 stagnated state of the air, or smother the land more, consequently are the most suitable 

 for the stronger sorts of soil ; and Young remarks, that " the common little horse- 

 bean has the advantage of all others in being more generally marketable ; for, in certain 

 situations, it is not always easy to dispose of ticks, Windsors, long-pods, and various 

 other large sorts. They "also grow higher, shade the ground in summer more from the 

 sun, and yield a larger quantity of straw, which makes excellent manure. But some of 

 the other sorts are generally supposed to yield larger products. In purchasing beans for 

 seed, care should be taken to choose such as are hard and bright, without being shrivelled 

 in their appearance." 



4768. The best soils for beans are clays and strong loams: on such soils they generally 

 succeed wheat or oats, but sometimes also clover leys. Turnip soils or sands are by no 

 means proper for them. 



4769. In the preparation of the soil, much depends on the nature of the land and the 

 state of the weather ; for as beans must be sown early in the spring, it is sometimes im- 

 possible to give it all the labor which a careful farmer would wish to bestow. It must 

 also be regulated, in some measure, by the manner of sowing. In all cases it ought to 

 be ploughed with a deep furrow after harvest, or early in winter : and as two ploughino-g 

 in spring are iiighly advantageous, the winter furrow may be given in the direction of 

 the former ridges, in which way the land is sooner dry in spring than if it had been 

 ploughed across. The second ploughing is to be given across the ridges, as early in 

 spring as the ground is sufficiently dry ; and the third furrow either forms the drills, or 

 receives the seed. (Supp. E. Brit. art. Jgr.) 



4770. Brown, one of the best bean growers in Britain, gives the following directions. 

 The furrow ought to be given early in winter, and as deep as possible, that the earth 

 may be sufficiently loosened, and room afforded for the roots of the plant to search for 

 the requisite nourishment. This first furrow is usually given across the field, which is the 

 best method when only one spring furrow is intended ; but as it is now ascertained, that 

 two spring furrows are highly advantageous, perhaps the one in winter ought to be given 

 in length, which lays the ground in a better situation for resisting the rains, and renders 



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