492 



FARM, ORCHARD, DAIRY AND GARDEN. 



way of curing it than to allow it to re- 

 main in the gavels as thrown from the 

 platform of the reaper. They may be 

 turned or stirred to facilitate the drying, 

 but otherwise may remain as left by the 

 reaper until ready to draw in. By mov- 

 ing one or two swaths to make room for 

 the team, two men with barley forks can 

 pick up the gavels oi three or four swaths 

 ■on each side of the wagon, and place 

 them on the load. In this way scarcely 

 any of the barley will be scattered on the 

 land. 



But if there are weeds or grass in the 

 barley, or the weather is threatening, it 

 will be necessary to turn the gavels, and 

 towards night put them into small cocks, 

 which will have to be turned or opened 

 the next day and recocked in the evening 

 again, if not sufficiently cured to draw in. 

 It should be borne in mind that barley is 

 very frequently stained in the stack or 

 the mow, from being drawn in too soon, 

 or with the dew on it. Barley should be 

 either thrashed as drawn from the field, 

 or not until it has done " sweating " in 

 the stack or mow. If the former, it will 

 be necessary to watch the grain in the 

 bin and turn it occasionally, or it will 

 heat and become discolored. The rakings 

 should be kept separate, as the grain is 

 frequently stained, and if mixed with the 

 rest may reduce the price of the whole 

 several cents* per bushel. 



BEANS, to Cultivate.— These grow best 

 in warm, rich, mellow soil. The bush 

 beans are planted in drills, about two 

 inches apart in the row. The drills may 

 be from one foot to eighteen inches apart. 

 When the plants are three or four inches 

 high, the earth should be drawn up to the 

 stems, and just before they begin to blos- 

 som they should be again earthed up with 

 loose, mellow soil. They require to be 

 frequently hoed while growing, that the 

 ground may be loose and free from all 

 weeds. 



Pole or running beans are planted in 

 hills, two or three feet apart, five or six 

 beans to the hill, and covered about a 

 couple of inches deep. It is of no use to 

 plant until the soil has become warm. 

 These beans need the support of a pole 

 ■or rod, thrust deep enough into the 

 ground to sustain the weight of the vines, 

 usually about eighteen inches, and stand- 

 ing eight or nine feet high. Three healthy 



plants will be enough to grow in each 

 hiU. 



BEANS, LIMA. — The principal point 

 in the successful culture of the Lima bean 

 is to get the seed well started. The best 

 way of doing this is to plant in a hill of 

 light earth, made so by sifting the soil, if 

 it can be had in no other way. A shovel- 

 ful of well-rotted manure should go into 

 each hill. Then mix sand and muck, and 

 after placing each seed bean with the 

 germ downward in the hill, sift the cover- 

 ing over it through a willow sieve. Corn- 

 planting time is the right time to plant 

 Lima beans. The after-cultivation is the 

 same as for the common pole bean. 



BEAN, CASTOR-OIL.— The best land 

 for the growth of the castor-oil bean is a 

 light, sandy, loam soil, with a substratum 

 of clay. First, break up the ground well, 

 as for corn, and then lay off the rows six 

 feet apart. Between every seventh row 

 leave an interval of six feet, to admit the 

 passage of a horse and slide when the 

 beans are being gathered, as hereafter 

 explained. Before planting, put the seed 

 in very warm (not boiling) water, and let 

 them soak all night. Drop six or seven 

 seed in each hill, the hills six feet apart 

 each way. Thin out to two plants after 

 the plants have got too large for the cut- 

 worm, which is sometimes quite destruc- 

 tive. At this stage, if the plants are vigor- 

 ous and healthy, reduce to one plant, 

 leaving two only where the plants look 

 delicate. Keep the crop clean, first with 

 the plow, then with the cultivator, and 

 now and then drawing a little dirt around 

 with the hoe. When the plants are some 

 two feet high no more work need be done, 

 unless, after a long spell of rain, you may 

 loosen the earth with your cultivator. 

 After the ripening of the beans, which 

 will be in July or August, take your horse, 

 and slide along the rows left for that pur- 

 pose, and with a pair of shears clip off the 

 pod-bearing spikes as soon as the pods 

 begin to turn of a brown or chocolate 

 color. They must be promptly cut, at 

 this stage, or the beans will pop from the 

 pod and be lost. 



Have ready a shed with a plank floor, 

 or a piece of ground, well cleaned, beaten 

 and rolled like an old-time threshing 

 floor, twenty or thirty feet square, well 

 exposed to the sun, on which throw your 

 spikes, and turn them over occasionally 



