| OCR Text |
Show HARVESTING BEANS. Directions (or the Growing and Han dllng of This Profitable Crop. Tho bean crop fills a good place In the ordinary (arm rotation, since It i may be planted n' a tlmo whet. g other work Is not p' pressing nnd re s quire but a smal' amount of cultl- v a 1 1 o n. They grow well on ordinary clay loam soils, and give good returns for th labor expended. Bush benns should bo planted aftct all danger of frost Is past and corn planting nnd other spring work has been well completed. A good crop may often bo matured If planted ns lato as July 4. They do beBt on loam soils and prefer clay uplands that arc woll drained which need not be particularly par-ticularly rich. It Is best to plant them In rows about two and oiw half to threo and ono-lmlt feet apart. Thoy may bo .planted with a corn plantor, adjusted adjust-ed to a slow speed, bo as to drop tho TUB HOME-MADE BEAK SHELLEU. beans six to eight Inches apart In tho row. Somo planters bavo special spe-cial attachments (or planting beans. Tho ground should bo harrowed after tho beans aro planted nnd tho surface may bo thoroughly cultivated at that time. Tho only cultivation necessary to grow them Is (requent stirring ot the surfaco to keep down weeds and rotain moisture. Deep plowing should bo avoided, since it Is unnecessary and harmful. Tho beans should bo allowed to rlpon and lecomo brown beforo being be-ing picked. It Is usually best to allow al-low them to become as dry as possible, pos-sible, ho as not to shell out in hand' ling. Thero aro several contrivances for pulling and cutting tho beans, ono of tho simplest and most practical practi-cal Is shown In tho cut. It consists of a knife, which may bo mado by any blacksmith, which is bolted to tho stock of an ordinary single shovel plow. With ono horso this Instrument may bo used to cut several acres a day. Tho plow should bo held so that tho kulfo passos along just under tho surfaco of the ground, cutting the bean stems ubout one-hall inch below tho Burfaco. After allowing tho beans to dry nnd tho leaves to wilt, thoy may bo gathered Into piles with n four-tlned fork, whero thoy may bo allowed to remain for n day or two If tho weather Is dry. Thoy should then bo haulod tc shelter and placed In a pllo not more than threo feet deep. If leaves nra vory green, thero Is danger of molding, mold-ing, which will seriously Injuro tho benns. Thoy must bo loft In this pllo until thoroughly dry nnd the shells hnvo become hard nnd brittle. brit-tle. They may then bo hulled, either by beating them out with a stick, or by using ono of tho hullurs, several makes nt which aro on tho market. A very cheap and effective huller suggested by Kami and Homo may bo mado from tho sketch. It consists con-sists of a cylinder, n, which may ho madn from a block of wood, Into which nro driven a number of No. 10 spikes, with heads cut off about ono Inch apart, und In rows. In tho block, b, which serves ns a concavo, other spikes aro driven, which, when tho arrnngomont Is mounted, will pass between tho rows of spikes on tho roller. |
