166 CALIFORNIA VEGETABLES 



The Black-eye Bean. It is thought that this variety came from 

 Virginia. It is grown in all the leading bean districts. This and 

 others of the "cow pea" group are grown to some extent, as a cover 

 crop for plowing under, in the citrus orchards, and a seed crop is 

 also sometimes harvested in the citrus districts. 



The Soy Bean. This Asiatic species, which has many varieties, 

 is grown to a limited amount by Chinese and Japanese on river 

 bottom and reclaimed lands, both for forage and food. 



The Horse Bean. A broad bean, chiefly grown by Portuguese 

 in the San Francisco Bay region; hardy and prolific, making free 

 winter growth where frosts are light; sometimes in demand for the 

 debasement of coffee. 



GARDEN CULTURE OF BEANS. 



Much that has been said about the field growth of beans ap- 

 plies to the'garden culture. Condition of soil and time for planting 

 are practically the same, and so are the characters of the growing 

 season, except that the gardener cares little for the maturing of 

 his crop, but prefers a green succession. A condition of late sum- 

 mer moisture, then, that would be a serious trouble in the field, is 

 an advantage in the garden. For a product of beans as a green 

 vegetable, the drying out which promotes maturity is to be pre- 

 vented, and if this is successfully done, either upon naturally moist 

 or irrigated land, the bean plants will continue their yield of green 

 pods until frost cuts them down. As California has, as a rule, a 

 very long frostless season, the bearing season of green pluckings 

 may cover several months. 



In frostless places, or in places of light frosts, where the grower 

 affords slight protective covering, the bean continues its growth 

 and bearing into the winter and vines of some varieties assert their 

 perennial character. Even where the frosts cut down the top, some 

 of the phaseolus varieties maintain their life and start again freely 

 from the old roots when the spring warmth invites activity. 



The continued growth of the bean late in the fall, in the absence 

 of frost, sometimes affords a better late than early crop, because 

 certain insects which destroy the early blossoms cease from their 

 labors, or because too high heat no longer blights the bloom. It is 

 often the reward of the amateur gardener, who promotes late growth 

 of his bean plants by continued irrigation, to gather ample supplies 

 of tender pods when less diligent growers have none. Midsummer 



