The Colorado Exiveriment Station 
] 2 
Beans in irrigated districts will usually be planted in rows around 
24 or 28 inches apart. The first step in irrigation is to use a furrow 
opener and make furrows between the rows. Water is run down these- 
furrows under proper control, until the soil is moistened laterally and 
to a depth of at least 2 feet. This figure 2 feet is a relative one. Some¬ 
times there is moisture enough in the subsoil at less than 2 feet from’ 
the surface when the surface needs irrigation. In such cases a lighter 
run of water will suffice. The last irrigation should very seldom be 
given after the blooming period; just as the plants are coming into* 
bloom is as late as water should be applied in ordinary seasons, and on 
ordinary soils. Later irrigations delay the maturity of the crop and 
endanger proper ripening, because of possible frost injury. Such later 
irrigations do not materially increase the yield of beans. 
The chief consideration, either on irrigated land or dry land, is 
good thoro cultivation. Such cultivation should be given as soon after 
irrigation as possible to get onto the land, and on dry lands such cul¬ 
tivation should be given after rains as soon as it is safe to work the* 
soil. Cultivation should not be given after the vines begin to run, which 
is about the blooming period, as previously mentioned. 
HARVESTING 
All harvesting methods can be classified into hand harvesting and 
machine harvesting. 
Hand harvesting is only adapted to small patches. Hand harvest¬ 
ing is usually done by either pulling the vines or cutting them off just 
under the surface of the ground with a sharp shovel. The vines thuss 
pulled or cut off are shocked by means of pitch forks. 
On sod land the ordinary type of blade bean harvester will not 
work on lands of such preparation. Hand harvesting has been neces¬ 
sary in the past. A few' growers have overcome the difficulty by set¬ 
ting a revolving disk so as to cut off the plants below the surface of 
the soil. A special arm or frame has to be constructed to hold the* 
disk at the proper angle and in the proper place. The disk, on account 
of its rolling motion, w^ill not clog up with trash and chunks of un¬ 
rotted sod. 
The best machines for harvesting beans are the regular beam 
harvesters. These machines cut the bean plants off just below the* 
surface of the ground and by means of fingers push two rows to¬ 
gether into one harvested row. The most up-to-date machines have 
bunching devices on the machine which bunch the cut vines into small,, 
neat bunches. These bunches can be dressed up a little by a man with 
a pitch fork, for curing. Many of the machines, however, have no 
bunching device. In this case the bunching must be done by hand. 
