CULTURAL METHODS 79 



I am not ready to say that cultivation of beans is* 

 not advisable, nor does the work of the experiment 

 stations, to date, justify any such a conclusion. How- 

 ever, I am certain that farmers as a rule cultivate 

 their beans too deeply. Thrifty, growing plants will 

 soon send their roots into the center of 2O-inch rows 

 to meet those of the neighboring plants. To run the 

 cultivator through these roots, tearing and breaking 

 them off on either side of the row is not as nature in- 

 tended. The shovel plow, to dig- up weeds and foul 

 growth will not be necessary if beans have been 

 planted as they should be. It is my experience that 

 beans should not be cultivated nor in any way dis- 

 turbed when the foliage is damp from dew or rain. 

 The work of the experiment stations also indicates 

 the same conclusion. Soiling of the leaves and stems 

 seems to promote the development of disease. The 

 orthodox way of cultivating beans does not differ 

 greatly from that followed with corn. 



Whether to cultivate while beans are in blossom is 

 a very interesting question which no one seems to 

 have solved to the entire satisfaction of all interested 

 in growing the crop. The experiment stations are 

 surprisingly silent on this question. There are hun- 

 dreds of farmers who would not think of cultivating 

 beans when in blossom, and perhaps equally as many 

 others who go ahead and stir the ground whenever 

 it seems to need it. If cultivation is given it must be 

 shallow, because at this stage of the crop, the lateral 

 roots are so far developed that stirring of the soil to 

 any depth will cut off many of the feeding roots. My 

 father always considered the admonition to keep out 

 of the beans when in blossom in the same class with 

 those theories that advise planting of potatoes and 



