254 CULTURE OF FARM CROPS. 



marked by the authority above quoted, " the bean plant 

 requires from six to seven months to complete its growth, 

 and if the period of sowing is delayed, the harvest opera- 

 tions are necessarily kept back at a period of the year 

 when each day's delay renders the season less adapted for 

 the purpose, and the stocks are frequently injured before 

 they can safely be carted off the field." 



50. With reference to this point as to the best time of 

 sowing beans, does it not, may we ask, appear a strange 

 thing that with all our Agricultural Societies, National 

 and District we are in possession of no well -defined 

 trustworthy results of experiments carefully carried out to 

 decide it 1 But we have said so much in previous articles 

 as to the apathy of our Agricultural Societies on points 

 connected with the culture of our crops, that we need not 

 take up space here by saying more ; if, indeed, saying 

 more would be productive of any utility, which we are 

 shrewd enough however uncomplimentary to the power 

 of the press it may be to know it would not. It is easy 

 enough to talk of the red tapeism of our Government ; is 

 there none of the disease existing amongst the officials of 

 our Agricultural Societies 1 Ee this as it may, and pos- 

 sibly to their minds it is a matter not worth a rush, the 

 fact is patent enough that, save what we learn from the 

 experiments of Arthur Young now very old, save the 

 mark, what a pun! we know nothing as to the relative 

 value of different periods of sowing. It will be well to 

 note here the results of these experiments. Of seed 



sown in November the produce was 4 '00 



December, 3 '4 2 



January, 4 '42 



February, 4 49 



March, 4'00 



April, 2-1 



May, 1-42. 



51. The quantity of seed per acre to be sown varies 

 with various districts, condition of soil, climate, &c. ; so 

 that the remarks we have had to make in connection with 



