BEANS 
tection from frosts during the growing 
season by furnishing excellent air drain- 
age. While the danger from frosts in- 
creases with the elevation, air drainage 
is the principal regulating factor. In 
parts of Nez Perce county, Idaho, where 
the deep canyons furnish good air drain- 
age, beans are being grown successfully 
at an elevation of 3,000 feet. In other 
parts of the same county having a low- 
ey elevation but poor air drainage, this 
crop can not be grown on account of the 
late spring and early autumn frosts. 
The success of the bean crop also de- 
pends upon the quantity of moisture 
stored in the soil at the time of planting 
and upon the cultural methods employed 
in growing and harvesting the crop. 
Cultural Methods Used in Bean 
Production 
Experience has demonstrated that the 
success of the bean crop depends largely 
upon the thorough preparation of the 
seed bed. While it is not the general 
practice, the work of preparation should 
begin in the early autumn. The most 
successful growers work the grain stub- 
ble into the soil with a sharp disk har- 
row soon after the coming of the first 
fall rains. When the ground is plowed 
after such treatment the stubble is even- 
ly distributed throughout the soil, where 
it quickly decays and prevents packing. 
It is not always possible to disk the 
stubble in the fall on account of the rush 
of work at that season. If, however, the 
plowing is delayed until the following 
spring, fall disking is very necessary. 
Planting the Bean Crop 
Time to plant.—The time of planting 
varies from May 10 to June 5, according 
as the season is early or late. When 
planted too early, cold weather, together 
with an excessive quantity of moisture 
in the soil, often causes the seed to de- 
cay before germination begins. Even 
if a good stand is secured under such 
unfavorable conditions the crop usually 
develops and ripens very unevenly. 
Method of planting.—The double-row 
bean and corn planter is used almost ex- 
clusively for planting the crop. An ex- 
D73 
cellent type of planter is now in use. 
This planter may be adjusted to plant in 
rows from 28 to 44 inches apart. By 
using a special 30-inch wire it will also 
plant the hills in 30-inch cross checks. 
The feed plates may be made to drop the 
desired number of seeds in each hill by 
regulating their speed. The planter is 
also equipped with an automatic hill- 
drop attachment which drops the hills 
from 17 to 52 inches apart in the row. If 
the ground is so foul as to require ex- 
tensive cultivation the beans should be 
planted in checks with the hills 30 to 36 
inches apart to permit cultivation in both 
directions. 
It is considered very essential that the 
number of plants grown on a certain 
area be sufficient to maintain a proper 
balance between the soil moisture and the 
moisture requirements of the plants. If 
this balance is properly maintained the 
beans ripen evenly and a uniform crop 
is produced. In the sections where beans 
are being grown at present, from six to 
eight seeds in each hill produce the proper 
number of plants. [f a smaller number 
of seeds is planted in each hill there is 
often moisture enough in the ground to 
keep the vines growing late in the fall, 
and the late beans are sometimes dam- 
aged by early fall frosts. This problem 
must be worked out, however, for each 
locality having different soil and moist- 
ure conditions. 
A hand corn planter is often used for 
planting where only a small acreage is 
to be grown. The ground is marked off 
in checks about 30 inches square and the 
beans dropped at the intersection of the 
marks. An experienced man can plant 
from four to seven acres a day by this 
method. If the ground is free from weeds, 
so that but little cultivation is necessary, 
the seed is often planted in drill rows 
with either a bean planter or an ordi- 
nary grain drill. Of the two, a bean 
planter which has a drill attachment is 
the more desirable. 
A grain drill having feed cups which 
will handle beans may be used with fair 
success. An ill-row grain drill with a 
space of seven inches between each drill 
