The Bean 



245 



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 D. ^-^^^ Supplied with humUS OP 



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 New 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 beans." 

 The large soft seeds are gathered just before they begin to 



140. Multiflora bean, showing the hypogeal 

 cotyledons (X V*)- 



