BEANS 123 



agriculturist with a means of replenishing from the great store of 

 nitrogen in the air the nitrogen taken from the soil by other agri- 

 cultural crops. Not all leguminous plants provide food for both 

 man and beast and at the same time increase the fertility of the 

 soil upon which they grow. The bean, however, is one of those 

 which has this power. It is, therefore, one of the most desirable 

 crops to use in the farm rotation as well as in market-garden work. 



While the food value of beans and peas of various kinds has 

 been known for many generations, it is within the memory of men 

 now living that their efficiency as soil renovators and fertility restor- 

 ers has been definitely proved. Now, however, the value of these 

 crops is being more appreciated, and as a result their cultivation 

 is being greatly extended. 



Perhaps no single agricultural crop is of greater economic impor- 

 tance to the people of the United States than the cowpea, yet its 

 cultivation in this country is comparatively recent. Each year the 

 crop is better appreciated, and its area is being rapidly extended. 

 While the cowpea is not a true bean, it is a valuable forage crop 

 and a great soil renovator. The seeds are valuable as grain, the 

 hay is equaled only by alfalfa, and as a producer of organic matter 

 for green manuring it is unsurpassed. 



The bean is not so important as other crops of this family from 

 the standpoint of forage or soil renovation, but the seed which it 

 produces makes it one of the most valuable. While the seed is the 

 bean's most important and valuable product, its power to gather 

 nitrogen and to render the soil better for having been grown upon 

 it is a consideration which should not be overlooked by those 

 interested in maintaining the nitrogen content of their land. 



Types of beans. The general term " bean " includes no less than 

 eight distinct species of plants, native to nearly as many different 

 sections of the world. These eight closely allied plants, descriptions 

 of which follow, are almost universally spoken of as beans and are 

 deserving of mention here, although not all of them are treated like 

 the common beans, which are the primary subject of this chapter. 



Broad beans. So far as is known, the broad bean ( Vicia faba) 

 is one of the oldest members of the group of leguminous plants. 

 It is, however, of minor importance in the United States, although 

 it is valued both as a garden crop and as an agricultural crop in 



