312 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



CULTUBE OF "WHITE BEANS. 



There is scarcely any vegetable that is more 

 acceptable or more economical and wholesome 

 than the bean. It is easily raised, harvested 

 and preserved, and may be prepared for the 

 table in various forms, all of which are grate- 

 ful, whether the bean has reached maturity, or 

 is used in an unripe state. 



We are not certain that we can assign a sat- 

 isfactory reason why this crop is so seldom cul- 

 tivated by itself, or why it is so rarely success- 

 ful, when it is so cultivated. In some sections, 

 the prejudice against growing the bean sepa- 

 rately, or allowing it the entire use of the land, 

 is universal, and although large quantities are 

 produced, the vegetable is almost invariably 

 the product of grounds devoted to Indian corn, 

 as the principal crop — the bean plants occupy- 

 ing a position in or between the hills. 



We find nothing similar to this practice in 

 British agriculture, to which, indeed, the corn 

 crop is unknown ; but we find that beans are 

 there much more extensively cultivated than in 

 this country, although the climate of England 

 is intensely damp — a circumstance which, with 

 us, would no doubt be regarded as ruinous to 

 the crop. 



That the bean, in all its varieties, is suscep- 

 tible of being grown separately, is a proposi- 

 tion which our knowledge of vegetable physi- 

 ology, as well as the deductions of experience, 

 forbids us to doubt. Though we have rarely 

 seen it so cultivated, on an extensive scale, we 

 have nevertheless observed its luxuriance and 

 the unparalleled vigor of the plants Avhen grow- 

 ing in small plantations, on light and well worked 

 sands. It is generally believed that the pres- 

 ence of some other grass-feeding vegetable is 

 necessary to ensure its maturation, and that it 

 seldom ripens when grown separately, by itself; 

 consequently, we rarely find it so planted ; but 

 this practice — like a great many others which 

 have obtained wide prevalence — is to be at- 

 tributed to a total misconception of the char- 

 acter and capabilities of the crop. 



It is not necessary, by any means, that every 

 leaf and pod of the bean plant be thorouglily 

 ripe before pulling. If proper care be taken 

 in stacking, beans that have not become hard 

 in the pod will mature, and be as sound, white 

 and valuable in the market, or for domestic 

 use, as those which have ripened wholly stand- 

 ing in the field. A lot which we saw last year, 



that were pulled when every pod and stalk 

 were green — because frost was anticipated — 

 and stacked on stakes and left until thorough- 

 ly dry, were white, plump and sound when 

 thrashed out, and were fit for any market. 



We have tried various ways of stacking, but 

 find placing them upon stakes set upright in 

 the ground, the best. Birches make excellent 

 stakes, by leaving upon them a portion of the 

 branches next to the stem, some six or eight 

 inches lonjr. 



For the New England Farmer, 

 FOREST TKEES 



TO TAKE THE PLACE OF TREES LOST OR DESTROYED. 



It is not necessary to say anything about 

 elms. Every body is familiar witli the appear- 

 ance and value of the American elm, and ready 

 to assent to the opinion of Michaux, that it is 

 the most majestic of trees. But this elm is 

 not suited to our purpose, which is to make up 

 for the loss of trees along the borders of by- 

 roads and lanes. The elm is a voracious 

 feeder, and sends out numerous roots near the 

 surface, so that nothing, not even grass, grows 

 perfectly well in its immediate neighborhood, 

 it is incomparable for broad, public ways. 

 For streets, in towns, the English ehn is bet- 

 ter. 



The oak is the king of the woods. We have 

 more than a dozen species in Massachusetts, 

 all beautiful and all adapted to our purpose ; 

 for the roots of the oaks go down very deep, 

 and thus leave the surface soil for smaller trees, 

 and for shrubs and undershrubs. Although, 

 if we wish the oak to succeed perfectly and 

 show its unsurpassed beauties at all periods 

 of its growth, we must give it the benefit of 

 all the soil, from the surface down. 



All the American oaks fiourish in our cli- 

 mate, and the two varieties of the English oak 

 at least as well as any of our own. 



There are two groups of the oaks: 1. The 

 White oak group — including the Over cup, 

 the Post oak, the Swamp White oak, the 

 Chestnut oak, the Rock oak, and the Chin- 

 quapin, the English oaks, and the Turkey 

 oak; and, 2. Those that are like the Red 

 oak, with the Black oak, tiie Scarlet oak, the 

 Pin oak, and the little Bear oak. All these 

 are beautiful, and some of them are as rare as 

 they are beautiful, especially the Over cup oak, 

 the Chestnut oak, and the Rock Chestnut oak, 

 remarkable for their gracefulness, and the 

 Scarlet oak, and the Post oak — the former for 

 the extreme beauty of the Ibliage, at all sea- 

 sons, and the latter for the singularity of its 

 star-shaped leaves. It would take many col- 

 umns to speak of the oaks as they deserve. 

 Any of your readers who want to know more 

 about them must read the books in which they 

 are described. 



There is another tree which, however well 



