BEANS 



BEANS 



207 



statistics relating to beans are taken except in 

 eensus years, it is difficult to confirm or refute the 

 assertion. 



The following table, from the Report of the 

 Twelfth Census, gives the statistics of bean pro- 

 duction for the season 1899 as compared with 

 1889: 



Climate. — As to the climatic limitations of com« 

 mercial bean-growing, we are uncertain. As a mat- 

 ter of fact, the industry is at present confined te 

 the northern border of the United States, a part of 

 California and to southern Canada. The garden 

 beans are extensively grown in more southern and 

 warmer localities, and no doubt the field crop 



States Cultivating 1,000 Acres or More op Beans in 1899. Arranged in Descending 

 Order op Production ; Also the Production in 1889. 



States 



Michigan . . . 

 New York . . 

 California . . 

 Florida . . . 

 Maine .... 

 Virginia . . . 

 North Carolina 

 Tennessee . . 

 Missouri . . . 

 Minnesota . . 

 New Mexico . 

 Indiana . . . 

 Illinois .... 

 New Hampshire 

 Colorado . . . 

 Vermont . . . 

 Iowa-. . . . . 

 Pennsylvania . 



Ohio 



Alabama . . . 

 Georgia . . . 

 Arkansas . . . 

 South Carolina 



Acres 



167,025 

 129,298 

 45,861 

 9,189 

 10,252 

 6,411 

 5,381 

 5,563 

 4,376 

 3,290 

 3,349 

 2,999 

 3,451 

 2,892 

 2,634 

 2,404 

 2,427 

 2,182 

 1,828 

 1,765 

 1,927 

 1,490 

 1,657 



Number of 



bushels 



produced 



1,806,413 

 1,360,445 

 658,515 

 176,304 

 137,290 

 56,189 

 49,518 

 48,736 

 45,647 

 36,317 

 36,022 

 30,171 

 30,122 

 29,990 

 28,570 

 27,172 

 24,903 

 23,957 

 19,042 

 17,865 

 17,489 

 15,582 

 14,925 



Value 



$2,361,020 

 2,472,668 

 1,022,586 

 139,349 

 290,885 

 66,066 

 50,703 

 57,660 

 73,850 

 49,685 

 73,001 

 46,281 

 46,084 

 62,799 

 49,169 

 51,629 

 38,296 

 38,719 

 33,307 

 15,507 

 17,982 

 17,046 

 13,936 



Production 

 in 1889 



434,014 



1,111,510 



713,480 



6,613 

 149,710 

 24,048 

 36,909 

 29,780 

 29,632 

 61,009 



7,843 

 34,988 

 21,308 

 44,589 



7,265 

 31,880 

 33,769 

 11,356 

 30,213 



4,841 

 19,619 



8,570 



8,018 



Per cent 

 of increase 



316.2 

 22.4 

 7.7* 

 2,566.0 

 8.3* 



133.7 

 34.2 

 63.7 

 54.0 

 40.5* 



359.3 

 13.8* 

 41.4 

 32.7* 



293.3 

 14.8* 

 26.3* 



110.0 

 37.0* 



269.0 

 10.9* 

 81.8 

 86.1 



*Becrease. 



The Dominion of Canada had' 46,634 acres of 

 beans in 1901, with a yield of 861,327 bushels. 



Culture. 



Soil. — "Too poor to grow white beans" is a com- 

 mon expression with some farmers in describing 

 soils in a low state of fertility. This would seem 

 to indicate that beans will thrive on poor land bet- 

 ter than most crops. Beans will grow on a variety 

 of soils and perhaps give fair yields on soils not 

 strong enough for satisfactory results with corn 

 or potatoes ; nevertheless, profitable bean-growing 

 requires soils well adapted to the crop and in a 

 good or even high state of fertility. Like most 

 leguminous crops, beans reach their highest de- 

 velopment on limestone soils. Clay loams, if well 

 drained, and sandy or gravelly loams if well sup- 

 plied with humus and properly fertilized, will grow 

 profitable crops of beans. Heavy clay and sandy 

 soils are less suitable. Peaty soils are not desirable, 

 as they produce a rank growth of vine that is sub- 

 ject to diseases and the ripening of the seeds is 

 uneven. Land that will produce both good corn 

 and good wheat will grow beans successfully, 

 although the beans will not thrive on such heavy 

 soils as will wheat nor on such light soils as will 

 com. 



would grow there satisfactorily. Insects and other 

 pests are more abundant, however, in the warmer 

 localities and they interfere with the ripening of 

 sound seed, and probably would render results with 

 the field crop uncertain. The market-gareners of 

 the South resort to northern-grown beans for seed 

 because of the prevalence of the weevil in seed of 

 their own production. It is probable that the effect 

 of climate on the pests of the bean crop has more 

 influence in limiting the area of production than 

 has either soil or climate on the crop itself. Even 

 within the limits of New -York there are great 

 differences in the destructiveness of the weevil. 

 Beans grown in the northern counties are rarely 

 affected by weevil, while those grown in the south- 

 ern counties as rarely escape. 



Place in rotation. — Beans do best on an inverted 

 clover sod and usually are given this place in 

 the rotation. A three-year rotation of clover, beans 

 and wheat is practiced in a considerable part of. 

 the bean-growing section. Corn and potatoes are 

 usually secondary to beans in these localities. 

 When grown, they get a parV of the clover sod and 

 are often followed by beans, so that the rotatioE 

 becomes one of four years. When beans are to be 

 followed by winter wheat, the early-maturing 

 varieties are preferred, as they are off the land 



