236 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



phate an acre. The Georgia Station secured the highest 

 yield of Valentine beans by applying 400 pounds of acid 

 phosphate, 100 pounds of nitrate of soda and 100 pounds 

 of muriate of potash. Several experiment stations have 

 found potash highly beneficial, while phosphoric acid has 

 made the best showing in tests made at most institutions. 

 Unless the soil requirements are definitely known, the 

 only safe course is to apply a complete fertilizer carrying 

 a fair percentage of each element. 



Various methods are used in the application of fer- 

 tilizers for beans. Drilling or broadcasting after plow- 

 ing is the most common plan. Fertilizer is often applied 

 along the rows with side distributing machines. Hill 

 applications of manure as well as fertilizers are fre- 

 quently made for pole beans. 



306. Selection of seeds. The selection of high-grade 

 seeds is significant. When a small quantity is to be 

 saved, pods may be chosen from the most vigorous and 

 the most productive plants. It is especially important 

 to avoid anthracnose by intelligent seed selection (317). 

 Nearly all the beans sold for seed purposes by American 

 seedsmen are grown in this country. The prices paid 

 the growers for seed beans of most dwarf varieties vary 

 from $1.30 to $2.50 a bushel. Seedsmen base their con- 

 tract prices on a yield of 8 to 12 bushels an acre, while 

 much larger yields are often secured (315). Nearly all 

 the seed lima beans are grown in California; prices range 

 from $2.75 to $4.00 a bushel. 



307. Planting Field Beans. Early planting is not 

 recommended for any of the varieties of field beans. The 

 objections are: (i) There is danger of the seeds rotting 

 before germinating; (2) if the plants appear too soon 

 frost may catch them; (3) early plantings are more 

 likely to rust than later plantings ; (4) cold, wet weather 

 may stunt the plants, cause an uneven start and conse- 

 quently a lack of uniform maturity. It is always better 



