Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 January 1918 — The HUMBLE BEAN IS HELPING to WIN the WAR [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The HUMBLE BEAN IS HELPING to WIN the WAR

By Robert H.Moulton

■ ' humble bean Is helping to OtO win the .war. So says Prof. L - C - Corbett * a bean expert in the department of agriculture. But the bean is no longer cheap. For planting, they cost the farmer this season from $lO to sl2 a bushel. The food pricey at retail is considerably higher. Therefore, it becomes no man to refer irreverently to the bean, whether it be red, white, black or mottled, or whether it be baked, boiled or made into soup. Professor Corbett, although a horticulturist by profession, knows more about beans,than anyone else In the country. We may accept his statement, therefore, that the bpan, which grows practically everywhere except at the North pole, is going to play a large part in helping to bring Germany to terms. He says It was the bean that put down the Civil war, and then whipped Spain in 1898. So why shouldn’t it make as fine a record in the present conflict?

Previous to 1861, according to Professor Corbett, beans were not much used in this country on the table —barring, perhaps, the city of Boston. At that time our railroads were very crude and they found it almost impossible to keep the federal armies supplied with guns, amunition and clothing, so in the matter of food bulk was eliminated as far as possible. Beans, being light in weight, and, moreover, very nourishing, made an ideal food under the conditions prevailing, so the Northern quartermasters began to buy them in large quantities and ship them to the soldiers at the front. The soldiers waxed strong on beans; likewise their taste for them grew amazingly, so that when the war was over and they returned to their homes, they asked for beans. Thus a market was created, where no market existed before, and farmers began to grow them. The bean industry, therefore, may be said to have been created by the Civil war. While beans made no millionaires, they increased the prosperity of farmers in the North and in time became a valuable crop throughout the South. For years beans have formed one of the principal articles of food for the soldiers in our regular army. During the Spanish war they ate great, quantities of them, down on the Mexican border they did the same thing, and now in France the story is being repeated. It is not only our troops, however, that are being fed on beans. British and French soldiers are living on them, and the American product, at that. When autocracy has been conquered and democracy rules the world, credit should be given to the bean for the part it has played in bringing about such a condition.

Fifty years ago the acreage in beans in this country was small, but it has been growing steadily. Last year 950,000 acres were planted to beans, the yield being 8,900,000 bushels. The 1915 crop did better, 928,000 acres yielding something like 10,000,000 bushels.. Last year there were a good many foreign buyers in the market, and this fact, coupled with the smaller crop, caused the farm price of beans to jump from $2.59 a bushel in 1915 to $5.06 a bushel n 1916. Farm value means the price that the grower receives. Very few, if any, consumers bought beans even for $6 a bushel. As the stock disappeared from the market the price mounted higher and higher. It might be supposed. then, that the acreage this year would break all previous records. But with seed selling as high as sl2 a bushel, or 20 cents a pound, and mighty Tittle at even such unheard-of prices* farmers preferred to take a chance on some other crop with which they were more familiar. Beans are planted late in the spring after the grouniT gets warm. The crop is'easily cultivated and readily slripped and stored. Under average conditions, a yield of ten to fifteen bushels pei acre can be exacted 'in most states. The greatest amount of labpr is needed at harvest time. On account of the lack of special bean machinery, experience |n handling the crop and the labor market, it is probably a desirable policy for many to grow small acreages rather than for a few to attempt large acreages. The navy or pea bean is the leading commercial variety of dry beans. It is also called the soup bean. The demand for this variety is well established, a point which is much in the grower s favor. It is also probably the most prolific variety under most conditions, n is listed under various trade names.

The small-seeded type of navy called the pea bean is In greatest demand. An increased acreage of beans will be an important contribution to the nation’s food supply. But to make this increased acreage most prolific, we must standardize our varieties. Plant only the navy bean, preferably the small pea variety. This will assist the grower in finding a market for his surplus. Buy seed from reliable seed dealers if possible.- Should this -supply be exhausted, the beans sold at stores for

cooking.purposes can be drawn upon. First buy a small amount, or secure a sample for germination. Test between blotters, and if the test shows 85 per cent germination or better they will be safe. " A sandy loam is best for beans. In many places the soil may-be too fertile, causing overluxuriant growth, of vines so that the plants bloom but sparingly and but little seed sets. Bottom lands are‘hot adapted to bean growing for this reason, and also b e(>ause °f. rbs " eases, some of which are more prevalent under conditions where heavy dews and lack of air drainage are found, as on such lands. For this reason a location is to be preferred where there is good air drainage. Newly turned sod may be used for beans with good results. Such land is apt to be a little dry, which tends to check vine growth. Land which is somewhat impoverished is better than a rich soil. The land should be prepared in the spring, because if this is deferred until planting time much of the moisture which should be conserved for the summer period will have been lost by evaporation or used by weeds. The seed bed should be prepared after plowing and followed at occasional Intervals with the harrow. This will kill the young weeds and conserve the moisture. In this way much of the weed fighting can be done before the crop is planted. From 18 to 20 quarts of pea beans are required per acre. Larger varieties require more seed, ranging from the quantities named, to one bushel per acre, according to size.

The bean is distinctly a warm-season crop and should not be planted until the soil becomes thoroughly warmed. If planted too early the seed is likely to rot in a cold soil and will not germinate uniformly, making uneven ripening. The vine growth is more likely to be excessive than when planted later and checked by the hot, dry weather. Generally speaking, the first half of June is ample time for planting shell beans, and in several instances fair yields have been secured from plantings made as late as the first of July. The limitation on late planting is the ability of the crop- to mature before frost and unsettled weather for harvesting. Unlike most plants, the bean brings its seed leaves to the surface when germinating. If planted too deeply, this is made difficult. On the other hand, a crop planted shallow may suffer from moisture. From 1% to 2 inches is. a good average depth. For a small acreage a hand drill is satisfactory, the rows being commonly spaced 28 to 30 inches apart, with the plants

about 2 inches apart in the row. In field planting a corn planter with bean plates is the most desirable. A grain drill with a portion of the opening stopped may also be used. The crop is sometimes

pidlllcU ill 11111.3, using five to seven seed to the hill. Experiments indicate that the- drilled crops yield the heavier. A final harrowing may be given just before the seed comes up. Level cultivation should be practiced after planting. The bean is a shallow-rooted plant, hence care .should be exercised to avoid injury by cultivating deep near the plant, Following the appearance of the blossoms, and after the vines begin to run, cultivation should be done at less frequent intervals, except in case of severe drought. This has a tendency to check vine growth and to encourage seed production. Beans should not be cultivated when the foliage is wet because it has a tendency to encourage anthracnose. A one-horse cultivator or a two-row truck crop cultivator are excellent tools for this work. A surface corn cultivator can also be adjusted to this purpose. The crop should be harvested as soon as the pods mature and before they begin to shell. On a field basis a cutting tool is required. A special bean harvester can be secured or a surface corn cultivator may be adapted for this work by removing the two inside blades and the rakes. Set the two outside blades to form a “V” with the inside point just touching so as to shave the plants off at the surface of the ground. Growers report the use of an ordinary plow with a long shear and the mold board removed for cutting the vines. On. small patches the vines may be pulled by hand. The pulled beans, while still damp, are foi-ked into small piles or they may be- bunched with a side-delivery rake. The piles should not be over feet in diametqr, and 4to 5 feet in height. If the shocks get wet, they should be opened and turned as one would hay. As soon as the shocks become fairly dry, the crop may be stacked under shelter or threshed. The threshing should not be done until the beans become bone dry. The vines, which have gone through a sweat and are properly cured, have a tougher seed, and hence there is less damage from split beans in threshing. A grain separator may be used for threshing beans. Take out all but one row of concave teeth and alternate rows of the cylinder teeth. The beans should not pass back bver the cylinder a second time. The machine should be operated at low speed, from 300 to 400 revolutions per minute. A limited acreage can be threshed with a flail or beat out with a stick. In this way, there is very little loss and at the present high prices hand cleaning can be done at a profit, as a winter job.