THE CULTIYATOR 
ed that they may not only he readily dissolved by the 
rain, but that the ram may freely pass through the soil, 
which, acting as a filter, arrests and holds these ele¬ 
ments where they will best serve as food for vegetation. 
Manures applied to undrained land are readily dissolv¬ 
ed by the rainj but are left floating upon the surface, 
and thus often pass away by evaporation or in the sur¬ 
face drainage of heavy rains, the saturated subsoil not 
allowing them to sink to the roots of the plants, or to 
be absorbed by the soil. This is one great reason why 
manures produce such trifling results on heavy lands, 
especially in seasons of abundant moisture. In very 
dry weather but little more effect follows their appli¬ 
cation, from the want of a solvent, such as is ever sup¬ 
plied by the water retained'in mellow, porous earth. 
‘‘ Braining renders the land penetrable to water, 5 '’ 
says a writer on this subject, “ enabling the rain to de¬ 
scend freely through it, carrying to the roots the ferti¬ 
lizing elements with which rain water is always charg¬ 
ed,”' as well as those it takes in solution from manures. 
The effect of manures is also much increased by an in¬ 
timate mixture with the soil. Such mixture can be but 
imperfectly obtained in the case of hard and shallow 
land, either in a wet or dry state. It will always be 
found that mellow and friable soils receive most bene¬ 
fit from manures, and that clayey soils, if made mellow 
by draining, possess the greatest absorbent powers, and 
are of the most productive character, compared with 
sandy and fight or mucky loams. 
The true policy of the farmer is to use every means 
in his power for rendering his labor more effectual and 
his farm more fertile, and in no way can thi3 be better 
accomplished in the case of wet and retentive lands, 
than by draining , and thus deepening and increasing 
the productive powers of the soil. 
■-- 
Culture of Beans—tlie Best Bean. 
Messrs Editors —In Co. Gent, of April 29, is an 
article on bean culture. I shall give you my system 
of sowing and harvesting beans, all of which ripen 
uniformly. Beans are more grown by market garden¬ 
ers than they are by farmers. There are around 
Philadelphia market gardeners and nurserymen who 
pay their rent by this crop. The army and navy are 
the principal consumers of the bean, it being used by 
them as a substitute for the potato. Their market va¬ 
lue is generally ruled by the price of wheat; they 
usually bring the same price per bushel. The variety 
which I grow is the large English White Kidney, which 
I have found to be the best grower and yielder of any 
bean I have grown. It also brings in the New-York 
market from twenty-five to fifty cents a bushel more 
than the small bean. It is for the grower and con¬ 
sumer much better than the small one. It is not of so 
strong a flavor for eating, being mild and quite palata¬ 
ble. It is also a much better yielder than the small 
one; it being double the size of the small one. it does 
not require so many to fill a bushel, and they are much 
easier threshed, cleaned, and hand picked. In fact, I 
would rather grow the English White Kidney to sell 
at one dollar a bushel, than I would the small one at 
double that price. I should realize more at the for¬ 
mer. 
The English White Kidney is a bush bean, growing 
from 16 to 18 inches high, with large dark green leaves. 
I sow them with my field corn, marking out the ground 
with the plow, leaving the furrows from three to four 
feet apart, (according, to size of corn,) marking both 
ways thus, ■ 
and sowing at the angles. This gives you straight 
lines from all sides. I mix up my beans and corn, and 
the men carry them in an apron. At each of these 
angles I drop four grains of corn, (afterwards thinning 
to three,) and three beans,, covering all with the foot 
A man thus plants and’ covers at onee. This covering 
will be about half an inch deep, which I have.found 
all sufficient for both- crops, and not so liable to be 
smothered as when covered with the hoe, and it takes 
but half the time as the hoe operation does. I then 
keep all cultivated level. 
Those who grow corn by high hilling, (a bad prac¬ 
tice,) can also grow the beans, but not with the success 
that they could by flat culture ; but I presume that all 
farmers of intelligence have now adopted, b&> far as 
practicable, the level system. The argument usually 
urged against the level system, is that the corn has no 
support against strong winds except it be well hilled 
up. I have grown corn one year on the hill system, 
which fully satisfied me that the flat culture was best' 
which is very easily explained, and the same explana¬ 
tion holds good in the cultivation of most other things 
that are grown in hills. When plants are grown on the 
hill system, they, being above the surface, draw the 
roots to the outside of the hill; if those roots are not 
again earthed up on their appearance, they are burnt 
up by the sun ; if carefully attended to, as in amateur 
working, it is best by gradually drawing those hills to 
the surface. When corn is grown level, you obtain 
beans from the seed leaf up, thus saving the whole of 
the plant for fruit; if on the hill system, you lose the 
first joint of the stem by putting the earth up. 
The principal objection to bean culture is the har¬ 
vesting of them. This, when properly done, is the 
most simple part of it. The usual way of drying them 
is to puli and' spread on the ground. If it should keep 
dry weather this is well enough ; if it should rain, they 
will more or less shell. My way is, when cutting the 
corn, to pull the stalks to you, cutting the usual hight 
from the surface, a man following (to four or five cut¬ 
ters) pulling the beans up by the roots, placing a round 
stick a foot in the ground and five or six over ground j 
around this stick lay some stones, say four to six in¬ 
ches high and from twenty to thirty inches in diameter ; 
you then place your beans, the stems against the pole, 
allowing the roots to be on the opposite side ; your next 
handful you lay with the top on those last laid roots, 
and the roots of this on the pod and leaves, and so on 
to the top, forming as you proceed a sugar loaf, keep¬ 
ing it round, or as you would build a stack, tying the 
top with a straw band.. By this you throw the water 
all to the outside, the beans being so compact as not to 
admit water. You can by this means allow them to 
remain in the field until you are ready to thresh them 
in November or December, the stones at bottom keep¬ 
ing them dry. In carting to the barn I loosen the pole 
by shaking, and take hold bottom and top and throw 
pole and beans into the wagon : by doing so you do not 
shell the beans. By this means I do not leave any on 
the ground. In stacking the beans it is- better they 
should be placed between your rows of shocks, as by 
