320 FIELD CROP PRODUCTION 



from 15 to 40 bushels per acre, the average being about 

 20 bushels in sections favorable to their growth. One 

 objection to a more general use of the field pea is the rela- 

 tively high price of the seed, which usually commands a 

 price of from 3 to 4 cents per pound. 



FIELD BEANS 



327. Field beans. There are two important species of field 

 beans grown in the United States, the common or native bean, 

 Phaseolus vulgaris, and the lima bean, Phaseolus lunatus. They 

 are closely related to the soy bean and the cowpea and resemble 

 them in general appearance and manner of growth. Field beans 

 are annuals that grow best in cool, moist climates and on loamy 

 soils. They are grown for their ripened seeds, which form a com- 

 mon article of human diet. In Michigan, New York, California, 

 and in some sections of other states they are quite important 

 field crops and are usually grown in a regular rotation. They 

 may be seeded with a drill in rows 28 or 30 inches apart or they 

 may be hilled to permit of cross-cultivation. The cultivation is 

 similar to that given the soy bean. In harvesting, the vines 

 are cut off below the surface of the ground by means of a bean 

 puller. They are then allowed to cure for a short time, after 

 which they may be hauled to the barn for storage, or direct to 

 the thrasher. Sometimes they are handled in the field much 

 the same as hay, being raked up with a long rake and loaded with 

 a hay loader. After thrashing they are cleaned and graded for 

 the market. The straw is valuable as feed for sheep or cattle. 



THE PEANUT 



328. Description. An interesting member of the legume 

 family is the peanut, Arachis hypogcea. Many persons who eat 

 peanuts do not know that they are closely related to peas and 

 beans and that the plants, in symbiosis with bacteria, produce 

 nodules on the roots like other legumes. The peanut is a rather 

 low growing annual with more or less trailing stems and with 

 the unusual habit of maturing its fruit underground, differing in 

 this respect from other cultivated legumes. The plants vary in 



