lOb BEAN CULTURE 



of the contrivance a very large proportion of the 

 earth, stones, bits of straw, etc, is removed. They 

 are then run through a picker, a machine equipped 

 with a large number of small rubber rolls, these 

 serving to pick out the damaged and split beans and 

 fine dirt in a lower screen, and rocks and large 

 lumps of clay or dirt in upper screens. 



Hand picked beans. — The beans are then ready 

 for the picking rooms. In the Michigan warehouse 

 large numbers of girls and women are employed; 

 in New York these and also men and boys to some 

 extent. The work done by their nimble fingers is 

 in removing discolored beans, or anj^thing else un- 

 desirable, that has escaped the previous cleaner. 

 This hand picking of beans is done almost entirely 

 in the elevators or bin handlers after they have been 

 purchased from the growers. The proportion of 

 beans hand picked on the farm where grown is 

 now so small that it can scarcely be estimated. In 

 the hand-picking process a mechanical device is in 

 use in the form of a movable canvas apron or belt 

 passing slowly in front of the pickers. Spread 

 thinly on this surface the hand picker has ample op- 

 portunity to detect each imperfect bean or bit of 

 foreign matter and to remove it. Meanwhile, the 

 thoroughly cleaned and practically perfect beans 

 move along on the apron and are discharged into 

 spouts or elevators, carrying them to the point 

 where they are sacked. 



Sometimes the beans are run through polishing 

 machines which remove the particles of dust and 

 brighten the stock, making it as nearly perfect as 

 possible. It has been found that by a vigorous 



