THRESHING BEANS. 195 



is apt to become compact, so that the earth-mulch de- 

 scribed in the chapter on cultivation is maintained. 



Gathering. Gathering the crop cannot usually wait un- 

 til all the beans have ripened, for fear of shelling out the 

 earlier maturing pods of some varieties, and for fear also 

 of the fall rains already mentioned. Cutting should begin 

 when the grower's judgment tells him he is about midway 

 between the two dangers. The date will of course vary 

 in different localities. The Lima bean has a longer grow- 

 ing season, and on the south coast is liable to encounter 

 serious hot spells in August or September after other 

 beans are matured beyond injury. The heat shrivels the 

 immature pods and lessens the crop. 



Hand pulling or cutting of the vines, or plowing out, is 

 no longer practiced in large fields. A cutter operated by 

 horse power is now used. Two planks are hitched side to 

 side, about two feet apart. From each, on the outside, 

 projects a steel blade, some two feet, fastened to the bot- 

 tom of the so-called sled. Two or three horses are hitched 

 to the sled, which passes comfortably between two rows 

 of beans; the blades of steel running from one to two 

 inches under the surface, sloping backward, cut off the 

 vines beneath the surface or loosen them so that they are 

 readily gathered with pitchforks and are thrown into 

 heaps. 



There are some local variations in the form of the har- 

 vester, and in some cases an iron-frame cutter constructed 

 on the model of a V-shaped cultivator with guiding wheel 

 is used. 



The beans are allowed to be in the field in small piles for 

 two to four weeks, according to the curing quality of the 

 local climate, until the vines are well dried. This not only 

 facilitates the opening of the pods, but saves the beans 

 from staining by green leaves and the damp dust they 

 gather. 



Threshing Floors. The early method of threshing was 

 by use of the threshing floor, and it is still practiced or 

 held in view to prevent excessive charges by machine 



