INSECTS INJURING BEANS 141 



clean condition, even by hand-picking if necessary. A dirty lot of 

 beans from any locality injures not the grower alone but casts sus- 

 picion on all the product of that place. In preventing this, associated 

 effort of growers has accomplished much. 



Bean Bugs. Three insects particularly bother the grower. 

 They are weevils, red-spider and thrips. The weevil is started in 

 the green growing bean, the egg being laid on the seam of the pod 

 when small. Beans should be gathered as soon as ripe. If there are 

 then bean larvae working on them, they can be killed by heating 

 the beans to 130 degrees in the oven, but of course one must not 

 get higher heat if it is expected to plant any of the beans next year. 

 The larvae can also be killed by putting the sack in a tight barrel 

 and pouring carbon bisulphide into an open dish on top of the seed. 

 An ounce for each 75 to 100 pounds is recommended. As the fumes 

 from the liquid settle among the beans, all of the weevils are killed. 

 The gas should be allowed to act from 24 to 36 hours, and as it is 

 highly explosive it should not be exposed to artificial light or fire. 



If the growing plants have whitish or yellowish leaves with 

 roughened surfaces either red spider or thrips, or both, are at work. 

 Red spider is destroyed by dry sulphuring the foliage. Thrips re- 

 quire spraying with a soap and nicotine wash such as is described 

 in Chapter XXXVIII. 



Rotation of Crops. It has been the experience of bean growers 

 hitherto that many crops of beans can be grown successfully on the 

 same soil without great difference in the yield that is, the land 

 does not clearly show wear, and some claim that following crops 

 are better by growing beans after beans. It is clear that following 

 a bean crop improves barley, potatoes or other succeeding crops. 

 This might be expected from what is now known of the power of 

 the legumes to fix atmospheric nitrogen by means of their roots. 

 Our best bean soils are so rich naturally that they are able to en- 

 dure a long cropping period and growers are apt to look upon the 

 soil as a constant factor and wish that the weather could be placed 

 in the same category. 



VARIETIES FOR FIELD CULTURE. 



The Lima Bean. The Lima is the great bean of California so 

 far as the outside world is concerned, because though other beans 

 are grown everywhere, a small area of our state, as already men- 

 tioned, is especially adapted by its favoring local climate to the 

 growth of this rather exacting variety. The variety grown is the 

 old "Large Lima," well known to the trade and well adapted to the 

 region, and however popular the dwarf Limas may become as 

 garden varieties they do not promise to supplant the old sort in its 

 stronghold. Improved strains are being secured by selection by 

 several Ventura county growers, and much greater yield to the plant 

 is foreshadowed. Though the Lima is a running bean no support is 

 given it in field culture. It is safe and comfortable reclining on the 



