634 The Cultivation of Field Beans. [nov., 



sowing until a month later, so that there is less danger of 

 the young plants being injured by a late frost, but, taking all 

 things into consideration, the early sowing is the best, 

 because the early sown crops are less liable to be ruined by 

 the bean aphis, while in the case of a heavy clay soil an 

 opportunity of sowing under first-rate conditions will 

 probably not occur twice in one season. 



Spring beans are drilled at about 21 inches apart, using 

 three bushels of seed, except with the Cluster variety, which 

 is sown at 10 to 12 inches apart. From repeated observation 

 it is found that this narrower distance gives a larger yield, 

 and many good farmers go a step farther and drill all the 

 spring varieties at this short distance apart ; but this prevents 

 the land being horse hoed, except with a corn horse hoe, and i 

 it is found in practice that this excellent implement does 

 not do good work on heavy soils with narrow, high-backed 

 " lands." The followers of the close row method argue that 

 beans coming only two years after a fallow shift in the 

 rotation should not require horse hoeing; theoretically this 

 may be true, but it must be remembered that not infrequently 

 the weather does not permit the fallows to be thoroughly 

 cleaned; under such circumstances, for the sake, not only of 

 the beans themselves, but also of the wheat following, it 

 is essential that every effort should be made to keep the land 

 as clean as possible. The horse hoeing should begin early, 

 and it is very beneficial to use plain curved tines similar 

 in shape to those on a steam cultivator, instead of the ordinary 

 duck-foot and L-shaped hoes for the first hoeing ; a second, 

 and occasionally a third, hoeing is given, using the ordinary 

 hoes. Between the first and second horse hoeing the crop 

 should be hand hoed. In this way the land is kept as clean 

 as the weather will permit. 



Manures. — Beans respond well to an application of farm- 

 yard manure, but do not as a general rule give a profitable 

 return when "artificials " are used. Being leguminous plants 

 we should not expect them to respond to a nitrogenous 

 dressing, nor are good results obtained, in the vast j 

 majority of cases, from either phosphatic or potassic manures. 

 The late Mr. James Mason, of Eynsham Hall, Oxon, did 

 however, get excellent results from an application of 5 cwt. 



