724 
liy ji liijil) wiml just when they were in full blossom, 
wliich blew off at least 50 per cent, of the tlowers. 
IX.TUTtY FROM MORNING CULTIVATION.— 
Another warnijig whicli may well be sonndefl here is 
asrainst working in beans while the leaves are wet 
after a lijrht shower, or while the dew is on in the 
morniiiff. The leaves are very tender, and if coated 
with dnst while wet soon tnrn yellow and eventually 
die. 
NECESSARY ‘-OON’TS."—If “donts” appear in 
excess here it is because the article is inspired by 
inquiries appai-ently from people who are not fa¬ 
miliar with bean jrrowinjr, but expect to try it. For 
all such there is no cr(»p with which I am acquainted 
that will bear more “don'ts” in the instruction book 
than beans. At the same time they are a favorite 
<a'o]> on thousands of farms, and where the condi¬ 
tions are suitable and the man familiar with their 
eccentricities they are a paying crop one year with 
another. 
ADVANTAGES OF THE CROP.—A few of the 
points in their favor are: 
They give a quicker cash return than many other 
crops; occasionally in !H) days, and nearly always in 
120 days from planting. 
They fit well in a rotation after some late harvested 
crop like corn, potatoes or cabbage, an<l to be fol¬ 
lowed by a Vinter grain crop like wheat or rye. 
Well-cared-for bean ground is more than half fitted 
for a Vinter grain crop when the beans are har¬ 
vested. 
The pods are a by-product, finmishing consider¬ 
able excellent feed for sheep and cattle. 
On many farms they fit well into the work .scheme, 
to help furnish uniform employment for hired help 
throughout the season. 
A .sannmary of our own bean records for five years 
follows. These are p»mi beans. followi)ig potatoes in 
the I’otation, and followed by wheat; 
Suiunuiry nf Reau Records for 5 years. 
llftunis Not 
Yii'lil Cost aore (iucliiiUii}; jirolit 
Year 
A<*rfs 
|)ci’ ac'i'rt 
bushels 
)M-r ai ro value of fodder) 
1 ) 01 - acre 
1910 . 
. . 19.4 
29 
.$2(;.2.2 .$(54.49 
.S2.S.17 
1911 . 
. . 15. 
IS. 
27.90 4.2.29 
1(5.29 
1912 . 
. . 17.2 
27.7 
24.(i.S (57.27 
22.59 
1912 . 
. . 20.7 
14 
.20..2(5 27.:57 loss 2.99 
1914 . 
. . 19.2 
11.4 
2(5.15 2(5.95 
o.so 
Total acres. 01.(1. 
Total yield, 1.S2. bn. 
Total returns, .$4,115.17. 
Total cost, .$2.(145.:{:i. 
Total net profit, .$1 .lOO..*^!. 
Total net profit per acre, .$li;.;l7. 
OK.V I.EE, .)K. 
Sound Sense on the Farm Question 
CANNOT withhold comment on the subjects on 
j):tge (144 b.v Geo. Pros.ser, “Let the City Vorkers 
Try It,’’ and Floyd Q. Vhite, “School Teachers as 
Farm Heliiers." Driving through the t<»wns and 
sniiiller t'ities one Sees itlmost every avaihible space 
plowed or dug and phtntcd to some crop, mainly po¬ 
tatoes, In my home town the mass of the people 
have set their efforts to force prices down on pota¬ 
toes, and pjiy from .$2..50 to .$.2.50 a bushel, besides 
45c to 50c an hour for having the lots phnved and 
fitted for fdanting. Next F:tll the major part of 
these city farmers will not have two-thirds of their 
expenses from these lots. The old adage, “One fool 
makes ten." a in dies very well to this year’s “craze” 
of production. In all it is a lesson well learned, and 
may make a good impression on these folk that the 
faYmer's labor is not all reward. 
Those city folks co\ild do a great deal more good 
if tiiey would take account of the precious time they* 
waste and utilize it in something worthy, instead of 
planning for an afternoon whist or bridge party. 
Vhy do they not plan to help the farmer and his 
family in some way? Vhy not drive to some coun¬ 
try store (so as to let the country merchant have 
the profit) and buy bolts of calico, gingham, muslin, 
toweling, etc., take them home, and have their wives 
make neat house dresses, aprons, undergarments, 
romping dresses for the children, and hand and tea 
towels? AVhen they have converted these Ixdts of 
dry goods into the finished product let the ciiy far¬ 
mer bring them to the same country store and sell 
to the merchant at three or five per cent, profit, 
with the understanding that the merchant shall sell 
them, at a very small profit, to the farmers’ wives 
who have no time to do their own sewing. The.se 
garments would be better made and give better sat¬ 
isfaction than fai-tory-made. 
As to “School Teachers as Farm Helpers," the 
country-raised city school teacher.s, if they i>osse.ss 
common sense, and offer their services at a rea.son- 
able figure to the farmer, would indeed be a great 
blessing. The farmer of to-day appreciates intelli¬ 
gent help, help that you can reason with, and talk 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
on current topics; help that he is not afraid to have 
mingle with his young children as well as his 
grown-np sons and daughters. These teachers 
(after a few days of hardening to the work) should 
not expect their program to commence at 9 a. m. 
and .stop at 4 p. m.. nor expect to receive a salary 
eriual to teaching, besides their board, which costs 
the farmer exactly as much as the city board, but 
is never reckoned as such. 
The Government can appoint committees and com¬ 
missions until the crack of dotun: so long as it will 
not lighten the burdens of the farmer, and insist 
that he has a fair margin for his labor, curbing the 
grafters, rooting them out, so long there will be 
trouble on both sides, the consumer paying high 
prices and the producer receiving the 85-eent part 
of the dollar. But it is all wrong to think that a 
farm can l)e run on a profit basis with high .schools, 
kiddies and city idler.s. Too many cooks spoil the 
broth. L. F. NICHOLAS. 
I’ennsylvania, 
How to Grow Lima Beans 
T he Lima bean is a tropical vegetable, supposed¬ 
ly named after the South American city of that 
name. Since it is tender to cold, and at the same 
time requires a fairly long growing season, its cul- 
tni-e in the Northern .states is ditticult. If the aver¬ 
age grower gets half of a full crop from his vines 
before they are cut down by cold, he is fortunate. 
Some of the means which the market gardener can 
use to force this vegetalde to mature more quickly 
Lima Beans on Brush Trellis. Fig. 293 
ai'e as follows: Wanting only on light, sandy, 
warm, well-drained soil, having it prepared for 
jilanting the previous Fall, so that it will dry out 
early and permit of early planting in the Spring. 
Fertilizing heavily with phosithatic materials also* 
hastens seed production. 1‘erhaps the most impor¬ 
tant thing in growing a crop like Lima beans near 
its northern limit of cultivation is the use of early 
(piick-maturing varieties. Seedsmen are now offer¬ 
ing varieties whivh will mature a full crop before 
early frosts almost every year. 
The running or “pole” varieties of Limas are by 
far the mo.st prolific or fruitful. For them some 
means of support is rcipiired. The brush trellis is 
easily the best kind of support if the brush c.-in be 
gotten in the neighborhood. Branches six to eight 
feet long are used, with the butt end buried in the 
ground at the side of each hill. These are placed in 
position just as the ninners begin to develop, and 
rhe.se soon run to the top of the branches, as growth 
is very rapid in warm weather, so that soon the row 
is a solid mass of vines. The bean pods are picked 
as soon as they have filled out well and are fully 
devel(»ped. The best .sign of full maturity is the 
yellowing of the pods, and they are easiest to shell 
at this stage. For sale on the market in the pods, 
however, they must he picked when a full deep 
green, for the yellow color would give a stale ap- 
jiearance on the market. This is the best way of 
hainlling beans, especially when the grower is some 
distance from the market. It is certainly much 
more sanitary to handle Lima Iteans in the pods, but 
unfortunately custom has made it more common for 
them to be marketed in the shelled condition. 
.Shelled beans in tiuart berry baskets are popular on 
nearly all markets, and never fail to .sell well at a 
good price as long as they are fresh. However, such 
beaus become moldy and sour soon, and are worth- 
May 20, 1917. 
less unless used within 24 hours. The Lima bean is 
a great delicacy in the fresh state, and is always in 
demand in its season. j. x. rosa, .jr. 
What to Do With Manure Liquids 
T have a concrete cistern under manure pit which 
holds about 2.100 gallons of drainage from manure 
pile above. Will you advise me what to do with this 
liquid? How much meadow land should this amount 
cover? Is this a proper time of year to apply it to 
•Alfalfa meadow? Is there a better use for this liquid 
on a dairy farm growing corn, oats, and hay? 
New York. o. L. w. 
E should jnit the liquid manure on the grass 
or clover at about the time the young growth 
begins to start, prt)vided the fields are not too wet. 
It is a mistake to drive heavy loads over the me.a- 
dow or Alfalfa when they are too wet or muddy. 
In some ca.ses farmers wait until the oats or barley 
are four or five inches high, and then when the 
ground is diy sprinkle the liipiid on these croi)s. 
In Italy experiments are repoided where sulphuric 
acid was mixed with this Ihpiid manure and then 
used for s]traying grain in which wild mustard w.is 
growing. The immure and acid killed out the wild 
mustard, without injuring the grain crops, and at 
the same time added plant food for the grain. In 
general, the best plan is to put this liquid early in 
the .season on the grass or Alfalfa. The plan is, of 
course, to ]»nmp it out of the cistern into a regular 
.sprinkler or tank, or into barrels. There are large 
machines made for this purpose, very much on the 
plan of the sti'eet sprinklers. Several of our reatl- 
ers report the use of their tank sprayers in hand¬ 
ling the liipiid. By putting in new valves and 
coarse strainers (hey are able to distribute the 
liquid evenly fi-om the tank as fast as the team 
can walk. In other cases a set of barrels are put 
in the wagon box, and the liquid pumped up into 
them. Holes are bored at the bottom of the bar¬ 
rels, with wooden plugs driven in. In driving across 
the meadows the.'ie plugs are taken out, usually 
from two barrels at a time. The liquid runs out, 
drops through the cracks in the wagon box, ami 
out behind, thus covering a strip about as wide as 
the wagon. In other cases a wooden trough or 
portion of a rain jiipe is fastened behind the wagon 
so that the litpiid runs into it. The trough extends 
out over the wIk'cIs with holes bored or punched 
into it, and the ]i(pud drips down through the.-^e 
holes, thus covei-ing a wide track across the field. 
Various plans are worked out with this distribu¬ 
tion. In some cases workmen throw it out in tin 
pails as they drive across the field. Others put the 
barrel on a stone boat, bore three or four .small 
holes at the bottom of the barrel, let the Ihiuid run 
out as it will. 
We should use about 10 barrels or 400 gallons 
to the acre. The chief value of this liquid lies in 
the soluble nitrogen which it contaims, this being 
about equal in fertilizing value to a strong solu¬ 
tion of nitrate of soda. This plan of saving the 
leachings in this way is very economical, except 
that it involves hard and rather dirty work to dis¬ 
tribute th^ liquid. 
Simple Storage of Apples 
A fter reiuling about the experience of ^Ir. 
Douglass in (he storage of Winter apples on 
the farm, page ('.‘lO. I decided to send an account of 
my experience, the result of whioli pi-oved to be 
very satisfactory. Ten or twelve years ago I filled 
15 barrels of Winter apples, picked early in October. 
The barrels were headed, laid on the side in the 
shade, and covered with boards. Cold weather held 
off that year, and it was early in December, when 
the thermometer was about 20 degrees, that I placed 
these barrels in a bin which T had previou.sly pre¬ 
pared—umler ojie end of my wagon shed. These 
barrels were placed on their sides in two tiers, a 
space of a 1 tout one foot left between the building 
and the sides and ends of the barrels. This .space 
was packed full of leaves, I do not believe that 
apples kei»t in cobl storage or any other wa}*, could 
have been kept in any better condition. The flavor 
most certiiiidy could not have been improved. X 
fruit grower visited my farm one day late in the 
Winter and I opened a barrel for his inspection. 
“Well,” .said he. “if anyone had told me that apples 
could be kept like that I never would have believed 
it. Not a rotten apple there.” When the barrel was 
emptied, however, a very few had commencei to 
d(‘cay. 
This method of keeping apples proved so satis¬ 
factory that I kept it up, and have influenced a 
number of others to try the experiment with sati.s- 
factory results. If plenty of leaves are packed 
around the barrel there would probably be no dan¬ 
ger of the apples freezing, although it would do no 
