JAN 48 
£ 01 * t\)C gfrimg. 
THE BEAN PRIZES. 
Uncle Mark has waited patiently for the 
reports, and as he said last week, ''time is up.” 
A great many of the Cousins worked for the 
prizes and Uncle Mark is only sorry that they 
cannot all have some reward beyond the feel¬ 
ing that they have done their best. Man}' of 
the beans were killed by the frost, and the 
chickens captured many more. It was hardly 
a fair trial, in some respects, between Cousins 
in the far North and those in the South, for the 
latter had no bard frosts to contend with. It 
may be that next time we can get something 
that will make a more even trial. Now for 
the names of the winners—that, I suppose is 
the most important of all. 
In Class No. 1, for the largest number from 
one bean, the first, prize, a pair of club skates 
is w'on by Neal Eckersou, Marlboro, N. Y. 
The second prize, a folding pocket micro¬ 
scope, is won by Judson W. Griblin, Virgil, 
Kansas. 
In Class No. 2, for the largest number of 
beans from 15 beaus. 
Frank W. Elliot, Stone’s Prairie, HI., 
wins the first prize, a copy of “Little Men.” 
The second prize, a microscope, goes to Coy 
Chamberlain. Marietta. Ga. 
There was not a single pod reported contain¬ 
ing seven beans. 
In Class No. 4 for the largest number of 
pods containing six beans, the first prize, a 
beautiful autograph album, is won by C. Eu¬ 
gene Griblin, Virgil, Kans. The second prize, 
a microscope, is w'on by Lou Hall, Glen Cove, 
L. I. 
In Class No. <5 for the largest number of 
pods on one vine, the first prize, a handsome 
knife, is won by Tullula Herron, Caldwell, 
Texas. The second prize goes to her sister, 
Mollie Herron. 
Uncle Mark wishes to thank all the Cousins 
for the good work they have done in this con¬ 
test, as well as their fathers and mothers who 
have superintended the counting. Those of 
us who have missed this time musn’t feel badly 
about it, we shall have another chance some¬ 
day, and then we may do better. 
I think we had better call this our Bean 
Special. I have had some very good notes 
sent in with the reports, and I think we can 
learn something from them about bean culture. 
The largest number of beans reported fiom 
one bean w r as (557; the largest number from 
15 beans 18,801; the largest number of potls 
containing six beans 85; the largest number of 
pods on one vine 260. Jack Frost must have 
spoiled at least 100 chances, and the chickens, 
cut-wonns, wood-chucks, rabbits, the wind, 
and even the cows seem to have had a spite 
against us. I don’t think any of these prizes 
were lost through inattention or carelessness. 
I hope not, I am sure. 
Neal Eckerson describes the culture his 
beans received, as follows: “After the ground 
was plowed and harrowed, furrows were 
opened five feet apart. Then barn-yard ma¬ 
nure was put in the furrows the whole length 
of the rows and the manure covered with a 
plow, the ridges raked dow’n and the poles 
set about four feet apart. Then a low hill 
was made around each pole and the beans 
planted one to each hill. They were kept well 
cultivated and had a top-dressing of ashes 
and plaster. 
Judson W. Griblin: They were the first 
Lima bean I ever saw, and all I knew about 
them was what I learned from the good R URAL. 
Kansas is not a bean-growing State, and I re¬ 
ceived them late (I do not remember the date, 
for I lost my book in which I kept an account 
of growth, etc., of my garden produce). As 
soon as I found out you were going to send 
them, I put a lot of ashes on the gjound, which 
had previously been manured and plowed. I 
then spaded it and got it in fine condition, but 
by the time the beaus came it was hard, so I 
did it all over again and planted as you direct¬ 
ed. But I shall put them farther apart next 
time, they made such a rank growth. Every 
bean came up. They wanted to run all over 
and I had to keep busy making each one stay 
on its own pole, and nipping the ends off. The 
vines were full of blossoms and small poJs 
when the frost came. The chicks and kittens 
seemed to know those beans were extra choice, 
and they took delight in climbing and flying 
up in the vines. I wish some of the Southern 
cousins would send me some cotton seeds, as I 
feel anxious to see it grow. I will in return 
send something. 
Greenwood Co., Kan. 
Frank W. Elliot: I received 20beans and 
planted them May 9. I first set the poles seven 
feet above the ground and two feet down. 
Then I hoed up small flat hills. I did not use 
any manure, as the ground was very rich 
garden soil. The beaus all oame up and I 
hoed them well. When they reached the tops 
of the poles, I picked out 35 of the finest of 
them for the prize. 
Coy Chamberlain: I have gathered 5,875, 
and Carl has gathered 3,465. We only tided 
for the fifteen hills, as we forgot to keep them 
separate two or three times when we first be¬ 
gan to pick; so we had to give up trying for 
any of the other prizes. I don’t know why I 
got so many move than Carl, unless it was 
because I hoed mine more than he did his; 
then, I planted mine a few days before he 
did, and they were in a more sunny place, and 
one of his vines was not much account; he 
never got but a few beans off it. Pa aays its 
all owing to the cultivation, aud it will be a 
good lessson for us, and show us what good, 
careful cultivation will do. The first beans I 
picked off from my vines was July 22nd, aud 
Carl the 24th; and the last we picked was 
November 9: we picked and couuted them as 
carefully as we could, but 1 don’t suppose we 
got. them all. Every time we picked them we 
would put clown the number and the day of 
the month. We would have had quite a pile of 
them now if we had not eaten so many—they 
were just delicious. Ma says, the best she 
ever tasted. _ _ 
Lou Hall. —I planted the beans you sent 
me on May 28; one bean in a hill, three by 
four feet apart, on good garden soil. Man¬ 
ured with good barnyard manure plowed iu, 
and after Papa had made the soil fine by har¬ 
rowing and raking, he made the hills aud put 
in the poles. I used two handfuls of active 
phosphate in a hill well mixed with the soil. I 
received and plauted 24 beans; 19 came up, 
and one dried up, or was eaten off by Mr. Cut 
Worm; but I stopped their fun by putting 
paper bands around them. 
Tullula and Mollie Herron:— We pre¬ 
pared a moderately rich plot by broadcasting 
and plowing unde»- two bushels each of ashes 
and cow manure, after which the ground was 
thoroughly pulverized and leveled. A further 
addition of eight bushels of freshly-rotted cot¬ 
ton seed was hoed in broadcast, when the 
beaus began to run. On May 7 the beans w r ere 
planted 1 % inches deep, eyes dowm. On the 
13th of May they were up, June 1 they began 
to run, when w'e gave them supjtort. June 
17, first bloom; Aug. 6. first ripe pod. They 
were cultivated, first time with shovel-plow, 
afterwards with hoes once a week until they 
bloomed, when they shaded the ground. They 
were planted three feet by tw'o. They were 
punched back as directed, but we think it won't 
do here. It makes them too late in bearing. 
It flooded through the latter part of May. 
June was very dry. July had light showers 
through the mouth; but on September 10 
came the rain which made the beans. October 
2S we had light frost, doing very little harm, 
On Nov. 7 came the killing frost, which found 
the vines very full of nearly grown beans. 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
Dear Uncle Mark: I don’t know as you 
want the Cousins to report on potatoes or not. 
I will send iniuy report anyw'ay. First I will 
tell you w hat kind of ground we used and how 
we prepare it, First we plow up a two-year- 
old strawberry patch immediately after all 
of the salable fruit is picked; plant to corn 
and get a good crop; after this is gathered 
we fall-plow. In the following Spring we 
plow again and harrow thoroughly. Then 
lay off with a single horse plow- aud come 
back in the same furrow to loose® the soil iu 
the bottom but not throw it out. We gener¬ 
ally grow from two to three hundred bushels 
to the acre. For varieties we have White 
Elephant; Blush; White Star; Early Ohio; 
Dakota Red; MagnumBonum; Wall’s Orange; 
Granger; Early Sunrise; Early Harvest; 
Early Illinois and American Giant. White 
Elephant, White Star and American Giant 
are all long white potatoes. Blush we like 
better than any other, yet the Early Ohio is 
the standard early potato with most farmers 
around here. Dakota Red is not a good po¬ 
tato; it is wet and soggy when cooked, with 
us. Magnum Bonum keeps better than any 
other I know of, and is a good eating potato. 
Wall’s Orange is of very good quality but 
rots more than some others. Granger is some¬ 
what like White Elephant. Early Illinois 
and Early Sunrise are good, but Early Har¬ 
vest rots too badly with us. 
Your nephew, 
Madison Co., I1L wm. jackson jr. 
[Many thanks for the report. It is a good 
one. Of course I want all the Cousins to re¬ 
port at any time they can.— uncle mark. 
Dear Cousins: The little girl that stays 
here wants me to write you a letter, so I have 
beeu trying to think of something new to write 
about. To-day it occurred to me to send the 
following; it is no made up story, but. true, 
every word. I will write it just os I saw it. 
I was one day walking through what was then 
termed the Norris Orchard in company with a 
little boy about four years old. Suddenly the 
little fellow stopped and picked up a young 
dead robin that lay in the path. A few steps 
on he picked up another; before getting to the 
end of the orchard he had collected six of them. 
What could it mean; such a slaughter of the 
little birds; I was never more puzzled in my 
life, I could scarcely sleep that night for think¬ 
ing about it. The next day, however, the 
mystery was explained, I had occasion to 
pass the same way; as 1 entered the orchard I 
noticed the little bird parents were hopping 
and fluttering from tree to tree in the most 
frantic way, uttering such pitiful cries, as if 
their little hearts were completely broken. I 
looked on a few rods ahead and there with a 
long pole in his hand stood old Norris, as he 
was called. He was thrashing and twisting 
the pole about amongst the branches of a big 
apple tree, while a gun stood leaning against 
the tree. I stopped back a few paces tiuob. 
served and watched him. In the course of a 
few minutes a nest full of young robins fell at 
Ids feet. He dropped the pole and commenced 
to mash the little peeping things with the heel 
of his big shoe. I was thunder struck; I walked 
up to him and asked what he meant by such 
cruel and wicked actions as these, and got for 
answer that lords were no good, they ate his 
peas and he was bound to kill every young one 
that was hatched on his place. I found I 
couldn’t reason with him, so I turned and hur¬ 
ried from the spot. Now, dear Cousin what 
have you got to say to my story? I think I 
hear the boys say, “What a cruel man, I do not 
want to be like him. I will never rob another 
nest or shoot auother bird while I live;” and 
the little girl, I know her well enough, for I 
was ouce a little girl myself, she will ask her 
Mamma to please not put the bird’s wings iu 
that lovely new hat of hers, or if it is already 
there she will ask her to please change it and 
put something else in its place. Am I not 
right? MARY waley. 
Gales Ferry. 
[I am sure you are right, and I will venture 
to say that farmer Norris felt the loss of these 
little bird-workers that he killed. The birds 
help us more than we know, and it is not only 
wicked but foolish to kill them,— uncle mark. 
Uncle Mark: I received the beans which 
you so kindly sent. What particular kind are 
they? Many pods were on the vines when 
frost came. Beans are easily digested, and 
strengthen the body more thau any other veg¬ 
etable. The nutriment greatly resembles that 
of meat, so that it supplies the place of animal 
food to a great extent. The potato cannot do 
this. “Both experience and chemical analy¬ 
sis tend to prove that legumes [beans, peas, 
etc.] are. the most nourishing part of the 
vegetable kingdom,” says a noted Gcnnan 
agriculturist. Peas are like beans, but they 
are not so sure a crop. If my letter goes into 
the waste basket, I can console myself with 
the fact that that is the place where it belongs. 
Rabbits are very plcut.y here. A great many 
are killed, hut there are plenty yet. A neigh¬ 
bor is trying a food steamer. He thiuks it a 
good thing. Crops were poor last Summer iu 
this vicinity. Cause, too much rain. 
JOSEPH JONES. 
Prescott, Kan., 
[Challenger Lima Beans. You must not be 
too sure about the destination of your letters. 
Beans make an excellent food. It would be 
well if they could be eaten more frequency 
than they are.— U. M.] 
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