598 Cultivation of Arable Land.—Beans.

Jour, which moftly happens about the latter end of Auguft, after which they begin to open at the ends; but they fhould always be cut or drawn up a week or ten days before this would happen, for though in fome parts of the crop the kids may not be perfeétly turned, this fhould not delay the bufinefs, as they will become ripe and hard after being cut or drawn up by the roots, by fetting the fheaves upright, and leaving them expofed to the influence of the fun and air for feven or eight days. When cut or drawn up fome time before they are in a fuitable ftate of maturation, they fhrink and become wrinkled; and if it be done when they are too ripe, they are liable to be loft by being fhed in the field: it is a better practice, however, to reap them before they are fully ripe, than to let them ftand until they are over-maturated. When they have be- come too much ripened, it is recommended to cut or draw them up while the dew is upon them, and to convey them in the fame ftate to the ftack, The parts of the crop that are not fo perfetly ripened may be cut or pulled during the dry part of the day.

When the feafon is moift, and the land of a good quality, bean crops conti- nue to proceed in their growth to a late period, and the pods formed on the upper parts of the ftems remain green when thofe on the lower parts are in a perfeétly ripe ftate. In fuch cafes it is not neceffary to delay the bufinefs of re- moving the crop, as by their remaining a little longer in the field no injury will be done either in the ftack or to the fample. Indeed, as this fort of vegetable is extremely fucculent, it is proper in moft cafes to let it remain out after being cut for a confiderable length of time, in order that the exceflive moifture may be fully diflipated, otherwife the fample may fuftain great injury from moldi- nefs, and taking on too great a heat in the ftack. It may alfo on thefe ac- counts be neceflary for them to remain in the ftack for fome time before they are threfhed out.

There are different methods of removing this fort of crop from the land: in {ome diftrits it is the praétice to reap or cut it clofe to the ground with a fharp hook contrived for the purpofe; in others it is mown; and in a few it is pull- ed up by the roots, being afterwards bound up into pretty large fheaves by woollen yarn, old ropes, tarred cord or ftraw ropes, and fet up three or four

together.

In cafes where wheat, tares, or other fimilar crops, are to be’ fown after beans, they fhould be fet up in fuch a manner as to cover as little ground as poflible, in

order that the cleared ground may immediately undergo a fuitable preparation for fuch fucceeding crops.