122 



Other plant. Well-drained, light, clay loams usually 

 give the best results. Many varieties of the beans, 

 especially of the bush type, do well on light, poor 

 soils, but high fertility is essential to large yields. 

 Where grown to be sold as green or snap beans the 

 brittleness and tenderness depend primarily upon 

 ripid growth, which can only be secured upon soils 

 well supplied with available plant food. Poor soils, 

 therefore, will usually give better results with dry 

 beans than with string beans. The bean is a shal- 

 low-rooted crop which requires for its economic 

 cultivation soils apparently free from all stones and 

 obstructions of any kind. Shallow cultivation must 

 be practiced. 



No special preparation other than that generally 

 considered good for any crop is necessary. Liberal 

 applications of commercial fertilizers are applied 

 with profit, but inasmuch as the bean is a nitrogen- 

 gathering plant this element need not be present in 

 large quantities. Potash and phosphorus should 

 predominate. Garden beans are planted both in 

 hills and drills, but the latter method is more com- 

 monly followed and usually gives the larger yields. 

 The common bush varieties should be planted in 

 rows from 24 to 36 inches apart and a plant from 

 every four to six inches in the row. 



The bean is a warm-season plant, and planting 

 should always be delayed until all danger of frost 

 is past and the soil becomes well warmed. The 

 proper depth for planting is from one-half to two 

 inches in depth, depending somewhat upon the 

 nature of the soil. In loose and sandy types, plant- 

 ing may be deeper, while in heavier soils one inch 

 is all that is safe, especially with the larger seeded 



