240 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



312. Cultivation. — If hard rains occur, causing the soil 

 to bake before the seeds have germinated, the crust 

 should be broken by the use of a weeder. This tool is 

 also used to some extent after the plants are up. Some 

 of the plants may be destroyed, but this is not objection- 

 able if the stand is very good. The least damage to the 

 plants will be done if the weeder is used in the middle 

 of the day, when the stems and leaves are not so rigid. 



Thorough tillage is essential to large yields. The 

 weeds must be controlled and the moisture conserved. 

 As the bean is a shallow-rooted plant, deep tillage should 

 be avoided, for it results in root pruning, which is always 

 detrimental to the bean plant. Implements with a large 

 number of narrow teeth or shovels are best adapted to 

 the cultivation of this crop. In the culture of field and 

 garden types on a large scale, riding cultivators are com- 

 monly employed. When the plants are small, shields 

 should be used on the cultivators to prevent covering 

 them. The culture should be level until the last cultiva- 

 tion, when wings should be used to throw up a slight 

 ridge for the support of the plants. 



There is an almost universal agreement among practi- 

 cal growers and plant pathologists that this crop should 

 never be cultivated when the plants are wet from dew 

 or rain. The Cornell Station (Cornell Station Bulletin 

 255) comments as follows in regard to this matter: "Cul- 

 tivating or working beans when wet should be avoided 

 as much as possible. On this point there can be no dis- 

 pute. The character of the parasite causing the disease 

 and the practical experience of the growers everywhere 

 show that this recommendation is correct." 



313. Harvesting. — Garden beans must be picked by 

 hand. When grown on a large scale a great many pick- 

 ers are required. Colored labor is used almost entirely 

 for this work in the South. Figure 61 shows a large 

 force harvesting a crop of wax beans at Norfolk, Vir- 



