226 



THE ILLmOIS FAEMER. 



Aug. 



small fruits as this season. It is a good be- 

 ginning ; their sure and easy growth has 

 been demonstrated, and when the season of 

 planting again returns we shall see an in- 

 creased attention paid to these pleasant and 

 health giving fruits, which have been too 

 long overlooked by the otherwise provident 

 farmer. 



The value of timber belts has become bet- 

 ter understood, and s on a large share of our 

 prairie farms will be beautified and made 

 more comfortable, by shutting out and mod- 

 ifying the sudden changes that now sweep 

 with such fierceness over the prairie. Un- 

 der the blaze of the August sun the farmer 

 has the satisfaction of seeing ample Harvests 

 gather about him, and were it not for the 

 sound " to arms," we should feel delighted 

 ■with the glad prospects of the now fast gath- 

 ering year. 



Harvesting of Beans. 

 Beans are often injured by improper har- 

 vesting. If not well cured they mold, and 

 moldy beans, as all know, will not sell. If 

 the weather is dry beans can be pulled and 

 laid on the ground to dry. but even then the 

 night dews and Lot sun is not the best, and 

 a much better and safer way is to pull and 

 place them around a stake ; the stake should 

 be six or seven feet high and driven into the 

 ground so firmly that heavy winds will not 

 throw them down. The beans should be 

 palled when the ground is dry and no moist- 

 ure on them. If the ground is wet, espe- 

 cially in a clay, in pulling the earth will ad- 

 here to the roots and the beans will be filled 

 with small lumps of clay that will prove very 

 annoying when you lake them to market. — 

 In pulling, when you have a handfull place 

 it with the roots to the stake, and continue 

 a circle around in that manner, the tops be- 

 ing so much the largest they will work in 

 very cleverly, lay on until you get to the top 

 ^f the stake, when you should tie on a cap 

 >i Btraw or prairie hay to shed off the rain. 

 Tneif; miniature stacks can be left for some 

 weeks, >j^d can then be drawn to thresh, or 



if you have a barn they can be stored until 

 winter ; they should not be put into the hay 

 mow, but on the scaffolding, either over the 

 floor or stable, nor should any hay or grain 

 be put on them to press them down, as there 

 will be danger of molding. It should be 

 borne in mind hat the value of beans de- 

 pends upon a good bright color, for if in the 

 least discolored they bring a much less price, 

 and as they are easily injured by moisture, 

 great care must be taken to keep them dry, 

 at least until they become well cured and 

 thoroughly dried. If pulled and thrown on 

 the ground in fine weather they soon cure, 

 but aside from the risk of bad weather and 

 heavy dews they will shell badly in hand- 

 ling; on the other hand when put in stacks 

 about the stakes, they are more co?^pact, yet 

 not so much so that the air cannot have a 

 free circulation to discharge the moisture. — 

 The beans are thus partially cured in the 

 shade, and in handling do not shell out of 

 the pods so freely; and in case of lorg con- 

 tinued rains they are little liable to d;.mage. 

 It is but little additional trouble when pull- 

 ing to place them into stack and the extra 

 labor of putting on the straw or hay capj 

 but even if this is omitted and fhe beans 

 well secured about the top of the stake it 

 will do very well. After beans are threshed 

 they should not be put in cotton sacks, bar- 

 rels or bins, or too late they may be found 

 unmarketable from heating. They should 

 be spread out for some weeks before putting 

 up for market. There is no other farm pro- 

 duct that has so wide a range in the market 

 as the bean, sometimes as low as thirty-five 

 cents, and unsaleable at that, and again in 

 demand at two dollars and a quarter ; this 

 for first class navy beans, while those a little 

 discolored are always dull sale. This year 

 an unusual breadth has been planted, ex- 

 pecting an unusual demand from both army 

 and navy, and it is therefore of importance 

 that they should be properly harvested, for 

 it is bad for the farmer to take a low price 

 for them, and worse for the sailor or soldier 

 to eat musty beans. 



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