BEA 



BEE 



ing two or three pecks. The sliced 

 beans fall on the table below, and are 

 immediately put in a cask with alter- 

 nate layers of salt. When the cask 

 is full and well pressed down, a board 

 and heavy weight are placed on them. 

 As the beans ferment, the liquid pro- 

 duced is poured off, fresh salt added 

 to the surface, and a linen cloth press- 

 ed close to keep out air ; afterward 

 the top of the cask and its weight are 

 returned, and the whole kept for use. 

 They are washed in fresh \vatcr when 

 used, and form a wholesome vegeta- 

 ble dish in winter. 



BEANS, DISEASES OF. The dis- 

 eases are the rust, or mildew, which 

 is a minute fungus that grows on the 

 stems of leaves, attributed to cold 

 fogs and frequent sudden transitions 

 of weather, and the black dolphin or 

 fly, also called the collier, an aphis of 

 a bluish colour : it is devoured by 

 lady-birds {Coccinella septcmpuncfala, 

 and other species). For the mildew 

 no remedy has yet been found. "When- 

 ever it has attacked the plants, gen- 

 erally before the^ods are filled, the 

 best method is to cut dov/n the crop 

 in its green state ; and if it cannot be 

 consumed in the farm-yard, to plough 

 it into the ground, where it will de- 

 cay rapidly, and be an excellent ma- 

 nure for the succeeding crop of wheat. 

 If allowed to stand, the crop will not 

 only be unproductive, but the weeds 

 will infest the ground, and spoil the 

 wheat crop by their seeds and roots, 

 which will remain in the soil. "When- 

 ever the tops of the beans begin to be 

 moist and clammy to the feel, it is 

 the forerunner of the aphis. They 

 should then be immediately cut off, 

 and this, if done in time, may save 

 the crop from the ravages of the in- 

 sects ; but the most effectual way to 

 prevent any disease from attacking 

 the plants in their growth is to have 

 the ground in good heart, and well 

 tilled ; to drill the beans at a suffi- 

 cient distance between the rows to 

 allow the use of the horse-hoe, and 

 thus to accelerate the growth of the 

 plants, and enable them to outgrow 

 the effect of incipient disease, which 

 seldom attacks any but weak plants. 



[ BEANS, SOUTHERN. Several 

 varieties are cultivated in Virginia, 

 I Georgia, and Southern States, under 

 the name of pease, as cow pea, corn- 

 1 field pea, Indian pea, <fec. They are 

 hardy, grow on stiff lands, and ame- 

 liorate their condition ; planted with 

 corn, they twine about tlie stem with- 

 out hinderance to it. On rich soils 

 they run too much to leaf; but in 

 poorish clay may be cultivated as a 

 field-crop without support, if in a 

 well-drained situation. The yield is 

 large, and the bean agreeable to 

 horses and all animals. The green 

 plant is occasionally turned in as a 

 fallow crop. 



BEAR BERRY. The Arcloslaph- 

 ylits {arbutus) uva ursi. A small ever- 

 green shrub of northern America and 

 Canada, used as an astringent and 

 tonic. 



BEARD. The awn of barley, &c. 



BEARER. In building, any upright 

 which supoorts timbers. 



BEAR'S FOOT. The hellebore. 



BEASTS. In farming, neat cattle. 



BEDS. In geology, seams of stra- 

 ta, as coal beds. 



BED STRAW. The Galium ve- 

 rum, yellow goose-grass, a perennial 

 weed, the juice of which is acid, and 

 sometimes used to curdle milk in the 

 place of rennet. 



BEECH. Fagus sylvatica, var. 

 Americana, white beech, and F.ferru- 

 ginca, red beech, are handsome Amer- 

 ican trees, especially the latter, which 

 is the larger, and more like the Euro- 

 pean tree. The wood is firm, but li- 

 able to insects ; the bark yields suffi- 

 cient tan for leather ; but the mast, 

 or nut, is the most valuable, from the 

 excellent oil it contains, which is ex- 

 pressed in Europe for table use. Hogs 

 fatten more rapidly upon beech mast 

 than any other common food ; the fat 

 is, however, oily. The beech prefers 

 rich alluvial soils, and yields a large 

 amount of potash in its ashes. The 

 timber cut in the sap is said to be the 

 most durable. 



BEER. The fermented infusion 

 of malt, flavoured with hops. But 

 other sweet infusions, treated in the 

 same way, or without hops, are also 



81 



