CALIFORNIA BEAN PRODUCT 135 



plies of fresh water or moist soil, there are also conditions which 

 suit some varieties of beans very well, and good crops are made. 

 But on interior lowlands there is often a summer rising of moist- 

 ure from rivers, bank-full from melting mountain snows or other 

 sources, which interferes with proper ripening of the beans by 

 pushing the vegetative growth of the plants when they should be 

 maturing a crop already formed. If, then, early rains come, the 

 bean grower is apt to be caught with his work unfinished and his 

 beans stained or sprouting. However, these troubles are not serious 

 enough to cause the forsaking of the crop, and in an occasional 

 year of drought, when the southern coast counties do not get rain- 

 fall enough to make their full crop, the grower on the interior low- 

 lands records a good profit. 



The market value of the field bean product of California for 

 the year 1916 is placed at $20,000,000, as noted at the close of 

 Chapter I. The great valuation is largely due to the high prices 

 prevailing. Quantities are estimated as follows : 



Sacks 



Limas, sacks of 80 pounds 1,815,000 



Pinks, sacks of 85 pounds 825,000 



Blackeyes, sacks of 80 pounds 250,000 



Small Whites, sacks of 90 pounds 750,000 



Bayos, sacks of 85 pounds 100,000 



Large Whites, sacks of 92 pounds 150,000 



Cranberry, sacks of 80 pounds 150,000 



Red Mexican and Kidney, sacks of 80 pounds 50,000 



Totals 4,090,000 



Other estimates of annual crops are as follows : 1916, 3,600,- 

 000; 1915, 3,868,000; 1914, 2,905,000; 1913, 1,165,000; 1912, 2,013,- 

 000; 1911, 2,825,000; 1910, 1,950,000; 1909, 2,340,000 sacks averag- 

 ing 80 pounds each. 



At an estimate of 20 sacks to the acre the acreage in beans in 

 1916 was 180,000. The crop of 1917 has much larger acreage 

 owing to war prices and exhortation to the greatest possible pro- 

 duction. 



Soil for Beans. A rich sandy soil, if it can be kept moist 

 enough, is best suited to the growth of beans, and dry, hot, sandy 

 soil is the worst, but even on sand near the beach, fair crops are 

 sometimes made by the help of aerial moisture and coolness. The 

 plant does not require very great amount of moisture, if heat and 

 atmqsphejic-aridity are not too great, but it insists upon a certain 

 amount. Crops Have been lost by choosing land that was too wet. 

 But though a light soil seems to best suit the plant, it can be suc- 

 cessfully grown on any good garden soil, providing good cultiva- 

 tion is given and the land kept from baking and drying out. With 

 adequate care in this regard, very good garden crops are grown even 

 on adobe soil, but the commercial bean crops are grown on light 



