1862. 



THE ILLINOIS FAKMEK. 



75 



SOIL AND CLIMATE. 



It is generally supposed thatthe range of coun- 

 try in which this plant can be cultivated is lim- 

 ited to a few counties in Southern Illinois, euch 

 as Macoupin, Madison, Randolph, etc., with a 

 few locations in Missouri, and along the Ohio 

 river. In this view we have no faith, for it is 

 certain that in all parts of the State the plant will 

 mature, and even as far north as Oswego county, 

 in the State of New York, we have seen it in the 

 gardens as an ornamental plant, mature its seeds 

 and never heard any complaint on that account. 

 At the saroe time, it is probable that it is a more 

 profitable crop in the deep rich loam and warm 

 climate of the districts named than fuither north. 



ITS CULTURE. 



The land should be a deep rich soil, deeply and 

 thoroughly plowed, and have the surface firmly 

 pulverized, for it must not be fcrgctten that the 

 plant in its normal condition is semi-tropical, and 

 like itg congei.ers sorghum and cotton, is deli- 

 cate in the first stages of its grown, though ex- 

 ceedingly rampant in its second and later stages. 

 The first plants begin to break ground in about 

 two weeks, and it will be fully four weeks before 

 all the plants will be up, unless the seeds have 

 been soaked in warm water three or four days, 

 which will tend to bring the crop forward some 

 days. The seod is enclosed in a hard shell, 

 which accounts for the tardy appearance of the 

 plants above grounU so long after planting. In 

 planting, the rows are marked off four feet apart, 

 both ways, with every fifth row six feet wide for 

 the purpose of harvesting with a one-horse cart 

 or sled. Four beans are put in a hill, though 

 sometimes more are used to supply the demand 

 of the cut worm, which sometimes seriously in- 

 jures the crop. Some punters leave two and 

 others one plant in a hill at the second hoeing. 

 Both have their advocates, though it is probable 

 that in rich land and good seasons the one plant 

 system is the best. The culture is similar to that 

 of corn, with the addition of thinning out the 

 plants and weeding out the grass with a hoe. — 

 The plant is of nmpant growth after it once gets 

 started ; often a whole field will average six feet, 

 with many plants eight feet high. 



HARVESTIXG. 



Here is where the "gazelle" comes, in and 

 upon which depends the piofit of the crop. The 

 beans begin to ripen from the middle of August 

 to the first of September, and if not gathered as 

 they ripen, they "pop out" and are lost. This 

 is the main point to guard against, heace the ne- 



cessity to harvest them as they mature, and this 

 occurs gradually, that is, from the time above 

 stated to that of the final cutting down by frost, 

 for the first frost puts a stop to further ripening 

 in the most summary manner. The beans do not 

 grow singly but in clusters, resembling small 

 cones, and are contained from three to eight in a 

 burr or outer shell which form these clusters. — 

 In harvesting, the first thing to be done is lo pre- 

 pare a 



POPPING GROUND. 



To do this, a space is cleared off and swept, of 

 from fifty to two hundred feet in diameter, de- 

 pending upon the amount of the crop. The crop 

 is harvested by passing a one-horse cart or more 

 commonly a sled, through the fifth row, on which 

 is a box holding about eight bushels, the cones of 

 ripe berries are cut off and placed in the box, 

 hauled to (he popping ground and spread out near 

 the center, when they are exposed to the sun, 

 which in drying shrinks the outer husk and the 

 beans pop out with a sharp report, often to the 

 distance of forty feet. During a warm day the 

 mimic battery of beans keep up a continuous 

 firing. It will thus be seen that if the beans are 

 left on the stalk until fully ripe they would pop 

 out and be lost. It is therefore of the first im- 

 portance that crop gathering be attended to in a 

 very prompt manner. The harvesting begins 

 about the middle of August and lasts until the 

 first frost puts a stop to the operation. At first 

 the labor is not hard nor diflBcult, but after a few 

 days the ripening rapidly advances and there is 

 a slight hurrying up of the work. 



The usual yield is fifteen bushels, though oc- 

 casionally twenty-five are realized. The cost of 

 harvesting is large, one hand can only harvest 

 about four acres, or say sixty bushels in the sea- 

 sop, which is from the middle of August to the 

 middle of October. When the price is down to 

 fifty cents it will be seen that it will scarcely pay 

 for the expense of harvesting, and will account 

 for the discontinuance of planting at that price. 

 The owners of the oil mills, when there is an 

 over crop, hold on to the oil, acd thus keep up a 

 fair average price ; they know that it will not do 

 to allow the price to go below the standard, that 

 is one dollar the bushel. The amount of this oil 

 used is limited to certain uses, and the mill own- 

 ers in this county know within a few barrels the 

 amount wanted to supply the market. No use is 

 made of the oil cake or any other part of the crop. 

 The dead plants are broken down with clubs and 

 plowed under. 



