216 THE BEAN CROP. 



greater in the soils of a dry country like Italy, than in 

 those of a humid climate like our own. 



The three methods of depositing seed already discussed 

 broadcast, drilling, and dibbling are each met with in 

 different parts of the country. Of these three, the first is 

 clearly the worst, and less adapted to beans than to the 

 cereal crops, as although you may get on to a field to broad- 

 cast before it is fit for drilling, and get over more ground 

 in a day; still it is impossible to keep the broadcasted crop 

 clean when it comes up, and few plants suffer more in their 

 early stages from weeds than the bean does. Where, how- 

 ever, the seed is to be sown broadcast, the surface should 

 not be touched after the cross ploughing in spring, but the 

 seed sown on the furrow slices, and then covered with the 

 harrows in the usual way, and a light rolling given if 

 the surface is left too rough. 



In drilling on the flat, the general drill of the farm may 

 be used, merely changing the grain feed-spindle for one 

 suitable for the larger sized bean seed, and arranging the 

 cog- wheels according to the quantity desired to be deposited. 

 The same drill will also serve for sowing on the ridge. In 

 this case great care should be taken that the land be ridged 

 up in parallel lines equidistant from each other, or the work 

 will be irregular. For both purposes, however, it is neces- 

 sary that the mechanical construction of the machine should 

 admit of the coulters and spouts being set to any given 

 width desired, as beans are always sown at greater dis- 

 tances apart than the cereal crops. The common drills, with 

 fixed coulters, &c., of course cannot be used for this or any 

 of the root or fallow crops on the farm ; and a bean-bar- 

 row, or some other form of machine, must be obtained. 

 Where the drill used is not suitable for sowing large seeds 

 and at wide distances, the beans are in some places sown 

 with the bean-barrow, which deposits them at equal dis- 

 tances along the lines of the last ploughing. In order to 



