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GARDEN FARMING 



Geographical distribution of the bean crop. The geographical 

 distribution of the bean crop, according to the census of 1900, is 

 graphically presented in the accompanying map (figure 40), which 

 shows the counties of the several states in which dry beans are 

 grown commercially. This map suggests the influence of climate 

 in determining the regions to which this crop is adapted. The 

 high latitude and the peculiar soil conditions of the New England 

 States and of New York, and the high latitude of Michigan, Wis- 

 consin, and Minnesota, are equally favorable to the production of 

 this crop. Considerable attention is given to the culture of beans 



FIG. 40. Map showing the geography of the bean crop, census of 1900 



in the region along the Allegheny Mountains from southern Penn- 

 sylvania to northern Georgia. The north-central part of California 

 is also an important bean-producing center. 



Within the last decade the cultivation of field beans has in- 

 creased markedly in certain sections of the United States, par- 

 ticularly throughout New York and Michigan. In many parts of 

 these two states beans have become as much a staple crop as 

 wheat was a quarter of a century ago and have largely displaced 

 it. From an economic standpoint the bean crop is a valuable ad- 

 dition to the farm rotation because of its capacity for improving 

 the land on which it is grown. If for no other reason than this, the 



