214 THE BEAN CROP. 



been before Christmas, scarifying pretty deeply will fre- 

 quently give a sufficient depth of tilth, and enable the 

 crop to be sown, either on the flat or on the ridge, without 

 ploughing it all. If, however, the manure has to be applied, 

 or if the soil is not sufficiently open and divided, and it be 

 found necessary to send in the ploughs, the work should be 

 done across the furrows of the autumn ploughing, and then 

 the crop be sown in lines across this last ploughing, and, of 

 course, parallel to the line of the first or autumn ploughing. 

 The quantity of seed per acre should be regulated by the 

 description of bean sown. For Winter beans, the quan- 

 tity of seed is usually from 1^ to 2 bushels ; while of those 

 varieties sown in the spring, from 2 to 4 bushels are re- 

 quired. In some places, especially in the Lothians, a pro- 

 portion of peas or of vetches is mixed with the seed beans 

 and sown together. The erect stem of the bean gives sup- 

 port to the climbing stem of the pea or vetch, either of 

 which can readily be separated by riddling when the crop 

 is thrashed out. When peas or vetches are grown for 

 seed, this offers some advantages, as the quality of the 

 sample is generally superior to that grown in the ordinary 

 way ; but if the beans are really a good crop, they would 

 give a better yield without any such additions, which take 

 from the soil exactly the same ingredients which the beans 

 require for their growth. The Winter Bean are much 

 smaller in size than the spring varieties ; consequently, a 

 greater number are contained in the bushel; while the 

 period at which the former are sown gives them a power 

 of tillering far beyond that which the latter possess. These, 

 indeed, vary much in size the Mazagan, for instance, being 

 twice the size of the Common Tick or the Heligoland ; in 

 measuring out the seed, this should be borne in mind, as a 

 larger quantity per acre will be required of the large-sized 

 varieties than of the small ones, in order to secure an 

 equal plant over the field. When the particular variety 



