1910.] The Cultivation of Field Beans. 



635 



basic slag and 5 cwt. kainit per acre, upon some stiff clay 

 soils in that district. This has been borne out by trials at 

 Cockle Park in 1907, when basic slag by itself and also in 

 conjunction with muriate of potash, produced quite satisfac- 

 tory results. In the rotation experiment at Saxmundham, 

 where beans alternate with red clover every fourth year, the 

 farmyard manure plot is distinctly the best, whilst a phos- 

 phatic and potassic dressing, viz., 2 cwt. of superphosphate 

 and 1 cwt. of muriate of potash, also produces excellent 

 results; it is most marked at this centre that the applicatioa 

 of nitrate of soda is practically useless. 



Harvesting is easier than in the case of white straw crops 1 , 

 because the same degree of dryness is not required. The 

 crop is cut when the leaf has fallen and the lower pods are 

 blackened; the cutting can be done with the binder in the 

 majority of cases, but occasionally when the straw is very 

 short and the lowermost pods are close to the ground, the 

 cutting must be done either with a reaper or by hand. When 

 using a binder it is advisable not to use new knives or 

 canvases. 



Either eight or ten sheaves are placed in each shock, and the 

 carrying should not take place for a week or ten days, when, 

 under favourable conditions, the straw will be sufficiently 

 dry and seasoned. The carrying should be done on a dull 

 day or early in the morning before the dew has disappeared; 

 if done when the sun is shining brightly the pods may 

 split open and a considerable amount of the grain be shed. It 

 is a great advantage, if possible, to have some beans and 

 oats ready to cart at the same time, so that a beginning can be 

 made in the early morning with the beans, and when the sun 

 is fully up and bright the work may be transferred into the oat 

 , field. 



Rectangular ricks some four to six yards wide are usually 

 built. The stubbles give a very good picking for the ewe 

 flockj and if the crop has been podded low on to the ground 

 or a considerable amount of grain has been shed, it is a 

 good practice to turn out some store pigs to work over the 

 stubble and glean what would otherwise be lost. 



Thrashing for seed corn is of importance when the grain 

 is hard and dry; it is essential that the drum be set fairly 



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