REQUIREMENTS OF FIELD CROPS. 25 
BEANS. 
The acreage of beans represented in Table 15 is as follows: New 
York, 540; Michigan, 462; Wisconsin, 349; California (irrigated), 
805; California (dry), 1,433; Colorado (irrigated), 853; Colorado 
(dry), 860; New Mexico (dry), 1,850; Idaho (dry), 864— total, 8,016 
acres. These records pertain to the crop year 1917. 1 
In all sections except Ventura County, Calif., the farmer, with the 
assistance of his hired help, performed all the labor involved in 
growing field beans. In the latter area, however, thrashing was 
done at a contract rate per hundred pounds. Since the farm labor 
had no part in doing the thrashing on these farms, it was impossible 
to report the time required for this work in terms of man hours and 
horse hours. 
In the eastern areas, New York, Michigan, and Wisconsin, the 
operations entering into the production of field beans were very 
similar. The one outstanding difference was in the method of 
harvesting in Wisconsin. In that State beans are thrashed from 
the stack* in the field, while in New York and Michigan they are 
thrashed in the barn. Of the three States visited the labor required 
for seed-bed preparation was lowest in Wisconsin, where the light 
soil type was the factor mainly influencing the labor required in 
seed-bed preparation. In New York and Michigan the land was 
spring-tooth-harrowed 3.7 times and 2.9 times, respectively. 
The labor requirements in irrigated bean areas such as Stanislaus 
County, Calif., and Weld County, Colo., differ somewhat from those 
in dry-land areas. Naturally more labor is required on farms where 
water is applied artificially than on farms which depend upon the 
annual rainfall. Of all the regions visited, the labor requirements 
in the lima bean areas of Ventura County, Calif., were the greatest. 
Here considerable work was done in an attempt to eradicate morning 
glory, which is a serious weed pest in this region. 
No manure was applied to the bean crop in the dry land areas of 
New Mexico and Colorado or to the bean areas of Ventura County, 
Calif., or to the dry-land beans of Idaho. Twenty-six per cent of 
the total bean land of New York, 22 per cent of the bean acreage 
represented in Wisconsin, 12 per cent of the irrigated bean land of 
Colorado, and 4 per cent of the irrigated bean land in California 
received applications of farmyard manure. New York, Michigan, 
and Wisconsin were the only regions which used commercial fertilizer. 
The seed requirements varied considerably in different districts. 
The principal factors which governed the quantity of seed used are 
the number of seed per pound, the width of row, and the moisture 
available. 
I The data Tor Tattle 15 are taken from an unpublished report prepared by R. S. Washburn, on file in 
the Office of Farm Management and Farm Economics. 
60765°— 21— Bull. 1000 4 
