I04 BEAN CULTURE 



sorting and cleaning to others. It is generally con- 

 sidered that when beans are ready to thrash they 

 are also ready for market. There is no set rule 

 as to the time farmers dispose of their crops. If 90 

 per cent of the crop was sold in early fall it would 

 be wise for the keen 10 per cent of growers to hold 

 their beans until the early glut is out of the way, 

 but there is no uniformity, and much depends upon 

 the market and price movement. 



Beans in good condition may be stored indefinitely 

 provided care is taken against animal and insect 

 pests and mouldings. Of course this by no means 

 insures a better market a month later or a year 

 later. Experienced growers realize that in storing 

 beans for later market they must encounter possible 

 difficulties with regard to mold, discoloration, etc, 

 provided weather conditions are not wholly favor- 

 able at and soon after harvest. Thrashing is gen- 

 erally completed by January i, immediately succeed- 

 ing the harvest, although possibly the beans may 

 not be sold before June. 



While many growers sell their beans immediately 

 after thrashing, many others store them for a time 

 in granaries, the condition of the market in the fall 

 largely determining the time of disposition. If 

 prices are regarded by the farmer below an average, 

 they are disposed to hold them for a time. One year 

 with another probably 60 per cent of the crop, par- 

 ticularly in Michigan, is moved before January i 

 each year. In this respect there has been a con- 

 siderable change in the method of handling beans in 

 the past few years. Formerly much unpicked stock 

 was shipped from country elevators, located in what 

 is properly known as the bean belt, and these beans 



