1910.] The Cultivation of Field Beans. 



633 



Cultivation, — Coming between two white straw crops, the 

 cultivation will to a certain degree be that of a fallow crop, 

 and thus it will vary to a considerable extent in different 

 districts. With winter beans the more generally accepted 

 practice is to give the land a light dressing of farmyard 

 manure, some 8 to 10 tons per acre, which is drawn on to 

 the stubble and spread as soon as possible after harvest. 

 This is ploughed in to a medium depth, say 5 to 6 inches. 

 After harrowing the seed is drilled at the rate of 2 to 2J 

 bushels per acre, in rows some 20 to 22 inches apart. The 

 earlier the crop can be sown the better, and if it is impossible 

 to sow before the end of October, the better plan is to wait 

 until later in the season and sow a spring variety. During a 

 wet autumn beans may be ploughed in ; this practice consists 

 in fixing a small hopper on the plough, dropping the 

 seeds just in front of the mould boards, thus covering 

 the seed, which is planted along each alternate furrow, the 

 land being subsequently harrowed. By this means the 

 ground is not trampled by the horses to any great extent. 



In bygone days it was the custom to dibble beans, especially 

 on heav3v T , poorly drained soils, and in certain districts this 

 custom still lingers; except for the question of expense 

 it is a highly satisfactory method of sowing. The custom 

 was for the man doing the work, having set two lines about 

 20 inches apart as guides, to walk backwards across the field 

 with a long-handled dibber in each hand making holes every 

 eight or nine inches; two boys followed him, dropping two 

 or three beans in each hole ; on reaching the far side he 

 shifted the lines and walked back kicking in the seed holes ; 

 a good man with two boys could do one and a half acres in 

 a day. 



With spring beans the land usually receives a similar 

 dressing of farmyard manure, but the work can be done 

 as opportunity occurs, so long as the land is ploughed 

 up by about the end of the old year, that is, in time to allow 

 the frost to act upon it. No further cultivation is needed 

 until just before sowing, which should be done as early 

 as possible after the beginning of February. The mechanical 

 condition of the land should be taken as a guide, for the soil 

 should be dry and friable, so that the seed can be drilled a fair 

 depth and well covered. Some growers prefer to postpone 



