1014. 
T M E RURAL NEW-YORKER 
069 
LIMA BEANS FOR MARKET. 
I intend to plant 3,000 hills of pole Lima beans. 
Will you tell me how to care for them, from the pre¬ 
paring of the soil to gathering? My ground is quite 
high ; I have plenty of stable manure. I. L. B. 
Pine IJush, N. Y. 
In former years we have grown a good many 
pole Lima beans, and our method was to mark out 
the ground in checks, with hills four to five feet 
apart each way. We furrowed out rather deep one 
way of the field, and then manured the hills before 
the poles were set. The best manure we could find 
for Limas was strong hog manure. Stable manure 
came next. A shovelful was placed in each check 
or cross mark and the hills were made up. On 
small plots the hills were made up 
by hand with large hilling hoes. On 
large areas a sweet potato ridger or 
a one-horse plow run around each row 
will make a quick job of it. After 
hills were made the poles were set. 
Ordinary-sized poles can he set quickly 
by using a crowbar to make the holes. 
We have also used wires for pole 
Limas. Strong posts were placed from 
25 to 50 feet apart across the field 
and two strands of wire stretched 
along them, one strand being about 
18 inches above the ground, the other 
.'>i/> to four feet. Some prefer the 
wire, some the poles, the preference 
being governed largely by the question 
as to which could be secured the 
cheaper. 
Beans are planted here about April 
25 to May 10, and we place each bean 
in by hand, eye down. Cultivation 
starts as soon as the young plant gets 
started, and on high ground it is es¬ 
sential to cultivate thoroughly through¬ 
out the entire season. When the 
beans began to send out runners they PL 
were tied to the poles with soft cotton 
twine. This had to be done about 
three times, and it was quite a job. 
In fact the pole Limas always seemed 
to be requiring attention of some kind, 
and this year we shall not have a 
single pole on the place. We did not 
last year, either, and we were not a 
bit sorry. Our bush Limas tasted just 
as good, sold as high, yielded as well 
and brought us more per acre than we 
ever secured from the poles, and with 
far less work. In other words, we 
have dropped the pole Limas and sub¬ 
stituted the bush Lima. The Ford- 
hook Bush Lima has made this change 
possible. It comes early and some 
years lasts the entire season. The 
pods fill out well, and the price is 
usually higher than for the flat-podded 
beans. It is also a good yielder. The 
bush beans are grown in rows four 
to 4% feet apart, and the plants are 
12 to Is inches apart in the row. We 
furrow out with a one-horse plow; 
distribute the manure in the row. 
ridge up and plant. Beans are placed 
in by hand as for pole Limas. After 
that it is simply a matter of cultiva¬ 
tion and picking. Italians or ehildr 
are glad to do the picking for 10 cents 
a %-bushel basket. trucker, jr. 
Gloucester Co., X. .1. 
cents per bushel; Limas, shelled, five cents per 
quart; peas, 40 cents per bushel. I did not see 
that these low prices benefited the consumer any, 
for as soon as the market closed, the storekeepers 
put the retail prices as high as they liked, regard¬ 
less of what the farmer received. After two sea¬ 
sons of this, I began to look about for some means 
to get more for our crops, so I talked the matter 
over with several storekeepers, and found them 
inclined to think very favorably of the idea of 
home canning if I could produce superior quality. 
They were willing to pay more than for regular 
factory goods. This higher price is necessary to 
make it pay, as it costs more to put up by hand 
than by machines, and the cans cost more in small 
ANTING BOLE LIMA BEANS “EYE DOWN.” Fig. 274. 
HOW I CAME TO START IN THE 
CANNING BUSINESS. 
Part II. 
A LESSON FROM LOW PRICES.— 
For several years I lived near two 
towns, each of which had a factory 
for canning tomatoes. Nearly every 
farmer who lived near enough raised 
from one to five acres of tomatoes. The super¬ 
intendent of one factory was a friend of mine: also 
I knew many of the operatives, and often while 
waiting to unload. I would go through the factory 
to watch the different processes the tomatoes' went 
through. In that way I obtained a general idea 
of what was necessary to be done, which helped me 
much later, when 1 started for myself. Three years 
ago we moved to our present location and tried 
fruit-growing and trucking for the near markets, 
eight and 12 miles away. Every season just when 
we had the most of every crop, the price would 
drop so low that it did not pay to cart the stuff 
to market. Often 1 have seen tomatoes as low as 
seven cents per 10-quart basket; wax beans five 
A FIELD OF POLE LIMAS AT PICKING. Fig. 275 
quantities. Next I got all the reading matter I 
could obtain on the subject, which was very little. 
From the very first I made up my mind to put 
quality first. How well I succeeded I will leave it 
to the Hope Farm man to say. as he has tried 
them.— | The goods were excellent.] 
GLASS OR TIN CONTAINERS.—The glass jar is 
largely used at home, and although growing in 
favor for a certain class of trade, is not used very 
extensively commercially on account of weight and 
breakage. The goods show up much better in glass, 
and if delivered in person to the consumer, would 
no doubt prove very satisfactory. If the jar is to 
1 e returned, by all means charge for it when de¬ 
livered. and rebate when jar is returned, other¬ 
wise I find the loss is too great. The tin can is 
the container used almost entirely in the commer¬ 
cial canneries. To-day the solder necessary to seal 
the can is attached to the cap. Also in many can¬ 
neries the open top or sanitary can has taken the 
place of cap and hole cans. The open can top is 
closed by a machine called a double seamer. No 
solder is used except on the side seams on the out¬ 
side. These cans are too expensive, unless on a 
large scale, on account of the machinery. A recent 
improvement in tin cans is the enamel-lined can. 
These cans are best for such articles as raspberries, 
cherries, plums, beets, rhubarb, etc., which contain 
acid, and when packed in ordinary cans lose their 
color. Tin cans are of many sizes and shapes, but 
there are certain styles, known as 
Standard No. 2 cans, with 1 ]/> or 1%- 
inch opening. This is the size usually 
used for string beans, corn, peas, 
Limas, etc. No. 3 cans are Maryland 
standard or Jersey standard, accord¬ 
ing to the locality. The Jersey is the 
largest; 2 1-10 or 2 7-10 inch opening 
is right for either of these. 
THE OUTFIT.—In ordering an out¬ 
fit, it is necessary to give size of the 
opening you are going to use, so cap¬ 
ping steel will fit. I had some trouble 
with mine, until I sent a cap to fac¬ 
tory and had steel made right size. 
A good outfit for a beginner would be 
a home size steam pressure boiler or 
process kettle, with rack for holding 
cans; a No. 7 fire-pot, burning gaso¬ 
line. for heating irons, two capping 
steels (two sizes) to fit caps, two tip¬ 
ping coppers, a galvanized iron boiler 
for scalding, blanching, etc.; a rack 
to fit, for holding tomatoes while dip¬ 
ping; a wire basket for blanching; 
a pair of can tongs, knives, buckets, 
a table to work on. a can of flux or 
some acid and zinc for making tin; 
flux, and some sal ammoniac for clean¬ 
ing and retinning. This outfit will 
cost about 840 to $45. The cost of 
cans will vary with style and size, also 
locality will make a difference, on ac¬ 
count of freight, but should not exceed 
825 for No. 2 cans, $30 for No. 3 cans, 
including caps. labels, cases, etc. I do 
not know of any can company that 
will sell in lots of less than 500 of one 
size and style. The price is the same 
per thousand up to 2.000. and $1 per 
1.000 less for 2,000 or more up to a 
carload. 
FILLING.—A can of food should ho 
as full as it can reasonably be packed 
and processed without injuring either 
the quality or appearance of the con¬ 
tents. All food packed in liquid should 
be filled to within one-half inch from 
top, and when free liquid is present, 
should cover the solids. A can of 
corn, beans or peas when opened and 
found to be one inch from top would 
be considered slack filled, and would 
be hard to sell at a price that would 
show a profit. Fans should be tested 
for leaks as soon as removed from 
process kettle. With a small stick tap 
on the can while hot. If the result is 
a dead, dull sound the can leaks; if 
clear and ringing, the can is tightly 
sealed. Another method is to place 
can in cold water. If bubbles arise, 
the can is not airtight. The standard 
packers’ can has a hole in top for till¬ 
ing. and is furnished with a cap (to 
which the solder is already attached) 
for closing. In ordering these cans, 
always specify solder hemmed caps. 
After filling, place the cap over the 
opening, apply the soldering flux, press the hot cir¬ 
cular capping steel on to the solder until melted, 
hold cap down with the iron rod, raise the steel an 
inch until solder is set. Apply a little flux to the 
vent hole in center of cap, touch a drop of solder 
to it with the tipping copper, and the can is sealed. 
Beginners will find many more things to learn, such 
as retinning capping steel and coppers, formulas for 
making flux and for cleaning, formulas for process¬ 
ing. blanching, exhausting, cooling, syrups, etc., to 
write all of which would make this article too 
long. \VM. II. PARSE. 
Middlesex Co.. N. J. 
No sense in buying a baby chick and then giving care 
which nothing loss than a giant could stand. 
