HOEING OF THE BEAN CROP. 251 



as the beans have got above ground three inches or so, 

 let hoeing be begun ; the sooner this is done indeed the 

 better after the plants are fairly and sufficiently up. The 

 earlier the hoeings and the more frequent they are the 

 cheaper each is, the land is kept cleaner, and by conse- 

 quence the value of the crop is increased. It is, says Mr. 

 Vallentine, a great mistake to send one or two labourers 

 into a field, to clean it after the weeds have grown above 

 the plants. It would be well if many farmers would bear 

 in mind what he further says, that if hoeing is not done at 

 the right time, there is a " certain useless expenditure of 

 labour." The longer the surface of the land is allowed to 

 remain untouched, the harder it becomes, and the greater 

 is the difficulty to break it up and get the weeds out. 

 True as this is, however, it should not be forgot that it is 

 equally silly to hoe in wet weather. This only increases 

 the evil, for not only can the weeds not be got up when 

 the soil in stiff heavy clays is wet, but when dry weather 

 sets in, the land disturbed by the hoe gets into such a 

 hard cloddy condition that after-hoeing cannot be done, or 

 if attempted, not done well. All these considerations 

 point to the imperative necessity there is for the farmer to 

 study well the weather, and to lose no opportunity of 

 doing what ought to be done. Let this in the duty or art 

 for it is an art, as all know who have tried it practically in 

 the field of hoeing be remembered as an axiom, that the 

 weeds should be kept down by hoeing before they have 

 got strength. But it is better in fact to keep them down, 

 as Mr. Vallentine says, by hoeing " before they can appear, 

 rather than to kill them when they have attained a certain 

 strength." In no department of farm labour is the force 

 of the proverb so apparent as in that of cleaning land from 

 weeds, " a stitch in time saves nine," " one year's weeding 

 saves nine years' seeding." Mr. Vallentine says, and says, 

 we are sure, with perfect and suggestive truth, that he never 

 regretted hoeing any crop too soon, but that many a time 

 he has felt the loss arising from delay. Hoeing by hand 

 is esteemed the best, but it must be well done, and to eri- 



