Yol. I. XXIV. No. 4.°,0-4. N E W YORK, M.\ V 1, 1015. WEEKLY $1.00 PER YEAR. 
IS BEAN CROWING PROFITABLE? 
It AH Depends on Soil, Climate and Markets 
I’aist I. 
ONTINUING A ROTATION.—I a in satisfied 
I hat the farmer who sticks to crops and rota¬ 
tions worked out of well-considered and care¬ 
fully-measured experience is in the long run most 
successful. The farmer who is continually jumping 
from the growing of one product to the growing of 
another simply because the price is high in a par¬ 
ticular season, only to drop this crop for another 
when the price goes down again, strikes it once in a 
while, but on the average he is a loser. We nearly 
always take note of specific successes, and we sel¬ 
dom take into consideration the many failures. The 
temptation to plant a larger area of a crop which 
is temporarily high in price is very great, and too 
many farmers yield to it. Last Fall many farmers 
were tempted to increase their area of Winter wheat, 
even planting land unsuited for this crop, and break¬ 
on actually increasing his potato area this year, lie 
makes it a rule to plant heavily in years when seed 
is cheap, and to plant smaller areas in seasons when 
it is high, thus reversing the rule followed by the 
majority of farmers and tending to steady pro¬ 
duction. 
SHALL I PLANT MORE MEANS THIS SPRING? 
—There is danger that too many acres of beans will 
he planted this Spring in New York State because 
of war conditions, which have made beans high in 
price, and because potatoes, which are a competing 
crop in many sections, are so cheap. For this reason 
the editor of Thk R. N.-Y. has asked me to add 
my little mite to help steady the acreage of beans. 
Whether or not beans are a profitable crop to grow 
depends, of course, on the cost of production, as 
compared- with the selling price. The selling price 
in ihe market is fairly steady, and is chiefly de¬ 
termined by the total amount of the crop. The cost 
id' production varies directly with two factors: (1 i 
soil, and rJ i rainfall. Anyone who is figuring on 
he underlaid by limestone or have disintegrated 
lime rock in it. 
CONSERVING MOISTURE,—Rainfall at the right 
tilin' more often determines the amount of the bean 
crop than any other factor. Since there is no prac¬ 
ticable way of controlling the amount and distribu¬ 
tion of rainfall, it is very unwise to plant beans in 
a section where it is known to he insufficient to grow 
beans. Early Spring rainfall can he conserved very 
well by early plowing and constant working of the 
land up to planting time, and this should always he 
done. It is the rainfall in June and July during 
the period after the beans have germinated and got 
a good start on conserved moisture and the setting 
of the pods that really determines the crop. 
In the tables to he given later, it will he noted 
that in three years out of six. the average cost of 
growing beans was per bushel. These were 
all seasons of low June and July rainfall, averaging 
inches. In the other three years the average 
cost was only $1.7!L These were all seasons of high 
Spring Lambs in a Maryland Feeding Yard. Fig. 434 
ing up their regular rotations to do so. This Spring 
others are contemplating sowing Spring wheat, in a 
state where Spring wheat has long since ceased to 
he a profitable crop. Because potatoes are very 
cheap this Spring, many potato growers expect to 
>top growing this crop and to increase the area in 
beans, cabbage and Spring grains. Here and there 
a man will be successful because of these changes, 
hut outside of these few cases, the result will sure¬ 
ly he disappointing. 
UPSETTING THE BALANCE.—Few of us real¬ 
ize. because we do not stop to think, how easily the 
balance between production and consumption is up¬ 
set. With almost any of our staple crops a 10 per 
cent, increase in the average and a normal or above 
normal yield means a low price. A particularly 
favorable season like the last means an over sup¬ 
ply of potatoes and a consequent low price. Here 
and there the individual may gain by changing, but 
it any considerable per cent of farmers change their 
ordinary cropping customs disaster usually results, 
'hii' of the best potato growers I know is planning 
growing beans this season will do well n> give both 
these factors careful attention. 
SOIL A LIMITING FACTOR.—Twelve years’ ex¬ 
perience in growing this crop and a rather wide 
observation, not only in this State but in Michigan, 
has shown me that soil is a limiting factor in bean 
production. I could never understand the old say¬ 
ing that a soil is “too poor to grow beans.’’ Certain¬ 
ly if any crop requires a good, strong soil it is the 
bean crop. On the other hand beans do their best 
only on moderately heavy, loamy and friable soils, 
clay soils are usually more fertile than the lighter 
loams, hut they are nearly always too compact, late 
and wet to permit of the most successful bean grow¬ 
ing. Moreover, if you will look over the bean grow¬ 
ing areas carefully, you will find that they are very 
closely related to the limestone bearing soils. This 
is particularly true of bean growing in New York 
State. An ideal soil for beans is a strong, rich, 
fairly open clay or silt loam. If such a soil has 
some moderately coarse gravel in it, it is all the bet¬ 
ter. It is apparently quite essential that this soil 
average rainfall in June and July, averaging 5.1 inch¬ 
es, in one year being nearly double the average. The 
ideal climatic, as well as soil, conditions for growing 
beans apparently exist in the middle Genesee Valley, 
in Wyoming and Livingston counties. Along the lake 
shore in Niagara, Orleans, Monroe, and Wayne 
(where these records were made), the rainfall is too 
frequently insufficient. The average total rainfall 
in June and July in these lake counties is about 
seven inches, whereas in Livingston and Wyoming 
counties it is nearly 10 inches. 
MARKETS AND MACHINERY.—Another import¬ 
ant factor which the prospective bean grower should 
consider is whether or not he is located in a bean- 
growing section where markets for beans have been 
established, and where harvesting, thrashing and 
picking machinery are available for handling the 
crop. A person attempting to grow beans in a re¬ 
gion where there is no established market and where 
such machinery is not available, is greatly handi¬ 
capped as to the profits he can make in the busi¬ 
ness. 
M. C. R TRUITT. 
