The Bean 



345 



they should make a rapid and continuous growth. The 

 soil should be rich and in excellent tilth. Plant only after 

 the weather has become thoroughly 

 settled. A succession may be had all 

 summer. Although beans are nitro- 

 gen-gathering plants, it is never- 

 theless advisable to apply a little 

 nitrogen at the start on land that is 

 139. Common wax bean (X «. ^^^ ^gll Supplied with humus or 

 in which beans have not been grown within a year or two. 



For canning as string beans, the Wax and Eefugee are 

 grown. In central Wew York the crop is planted about 

 May 15, and the harvest is August 1 till frost. An acre 

 yields approximately 5,000 pounds. 



String beans are pro- 

 ductive, and if the 

 ground is frequently 

 tilled and the beans 

 picked before they get 

 hard, the yield will 

 continue for a consid- 

 erable time, in this' 

 respect differing from 

 peas. They are picked 

 by hand. All broken, 

 imperfect and diseased 

 pods should be dis- 

 carded when market- 

 ing. They are sent to market in baskets and hampers. 



Other kinds of garden beans are used as " shell beaas." 

 The large soft seeds are gathered, just before they begin to 



140. Multiflora bean, showing the hypogeal 

 cotyledons (X W- 



