UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA THE PRODUCTION Of THE LIMA BEAN THE NEED AND POSSIBILITY OE ITS IMPROVEMENT BY G. W. SHAW and M. E. SHERWIN A 1500-acre field of Lima Beans. BULLETIN No. 224 November, 1911 SACRAMENTO W. W. SHANNON - - - - SUPERINTENDENT STATE PRINTING 1911 Benjamin Ide Wheeler, President of the University. EXPERIMENT STATION STAFF. E. J. Wickson, M.A., Director and Horticulturist. E. W. Hilgard, Ph.D., LL.D., Chemist (Emeritus). W. A. Setchell, Ph.D., Botanist. Leroy Anderson, Ph.D., Dairy Industry and Superintendent University Farm Schools. M. E. Jaffa, M.S., Nutrition Expert. R. H. Loughridge, Ph.D., Soil Chemist and Physicist (Emeritus). C. W. Woodworth, M.S., Entomologist. Ralph E. Smith, B.S., Plant Pathologist and Superintendent of Southern California Pathological Laboratory and Experiment Station. G. W. Shaw, M.A., Ph.D., Experimental Agronomist and Agricultural Technologist, in charge of Cereal Stations. E. W. Major, B.Agr., Animal Industry. B. A. Etcheverry, B.S., Irrigation Expert. F. T. Bioletti, B.S., Viticulturist. W. T. Clarke, B.S., Assistant Horticulturist and Superintendent of University Exten- sion in Agriculture. John S. Burd, B.S., Chemist, in charge of Fertilizer Control. J. E. Coit, Ph.D., Assistant Pomologist, Plant Disease Laboratory, Whittier. George E. Colby, M.S., Chemist (Fruits, Waters, and Insecticides), in charge of Chemical Laboratory. H. J. Quayle, M.S., Assistant Entomologist, Plant Disease Laboratory, Whittier. H. M. Hall, Ph.D., Assistant Botanist. C. M. Haring, D.V.M., Assistant Veterinarian and Bacteriologist. E. B. Babcock, B.S., Assistant Agricultural Education. W. B. Herms, M.A., Assistant Entomologist. J. H. Norton, M.S., Assistant Chemist, in charge of Citrus Experiment Station, River- side. W. T. Horne, B.S., Assistant Plant Pathologist. C. B. Lipman, Ph.D., Soil Chemist and Bacteriologist. R. E. Mansell, Assistant Horticulturist, in charge of Central Station grounds. A. J. Gaumnitz, Assistant Agronomist, University Farm, Davis. N. D. Ingham, B.S., Assistant in Sylviculture, Santa Monica. T. F. Hunt, B.S., Assistant Plant Pathologist. P. L. McCreary, B.S., Chemist in Fertilizer Control. E. H. Hagemann, Assistant in Dairying, Davis. R. M. Roberts, Farm Manager, University Farm, Davis. B. S. Brown, B.S.A., Assistant Horticulturist, University Farm, Davis. J. I. Thompson, B.S., Assistant Animal Industry, Davis. Howard Phillips, B.S., Assistant Animal Industry, Davis. J. C. Bridwell, B.S., Assistant Entomologist. C. H. McCharles, M.S., Assistant Agricultural Chemical Laboratory. E. H. Smith, M.S., Assistant Plant Pathologist. C. O. Smith, M.S., Assistant Plant Pathologist, Plant Disease Laboratory, Whittier. F. E. Johnson, B.L., M.S., Assistant Soil Chemist. B. A. Madson, B.S.A., Assistant Experimental Agronomist. Walter E. Packard, M.S., Field Assistant Imperial Valley Investigation, El Centro. P. L. Hibbard, B.S., Assistant Fertilizer Control Laboratory. L. M. Davis, B.S., Assistant in Dairy Husbandry, University Farm, Davis. S. S. Rogers, B.S., Assistant Plant Pathologist, Plant Disease Laboratory, Whittier. L. Bonnet, Assistant Viticulturist. H. A. Ruehe, B.S.A., Assistant in Dairy Husbandry, University Farm, Davis. F. C. H. Flossfeder, Assistant in Viticulture, University Farm, Davis. S. D. Wilkins, Assistant in Poultry Husbandry, University Farm, Davis. C. L. Roadhouse, D.V.M., Assistant in Veterinary Science. F. M. Hayes, D.V.M., Assistant Veterinarian. M. E. Stover, B.S., Assistant in Agricultural Chemical Laboratory. W. H. Volck, Field Assistant in Entomology, Watsonville. E. L. Morris, Field Assistant in Entomology, San Jose. E. E. Thomas, B.S., Assistant Chemist, Plant Disease Laboratory, Whittier. A! B. Shaw, B.S., Assistant in Entomology. G. P. Gray, M.S., Chemist in Insecticides. H. D. Young, B.S., Assistant in Agricultural Chemistry, Plant Disease Laboratory, Whittier. A. R. Tylor, B.S., Assistant in Plant Pathology, Plant Disease Laboratory, Whittier. E. W. Rust, A.B., Assistant in Entomology, Plant Disease Laboratory, Whittier. L. T. Sharp, B.S., Assistant in Soils. W. W. Cruess, B.S., Assistant in Zymology. J. F. Mitchell, D.V.M., Assistant in Veterinary Laboratory. W. A. Boys, B.S., Assistant in Agronomy. Anna M. Lute, A.B., Scientific Assistant U. S. D. A., Seed Laboratory. J. C. Roper, Patron, University Forestry Station, Chico. E. C. Miller, Foreman, Forestry Station, Chico. D. L. Bunnell, Secretary to Director. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. These investigations were carried out as part of the general plan of the Experiment Station for lima bean improvement. Thanks are due to Messrs. F. A. Snyder, W. E. Goodyear, F. "VV. Hooker, and Charles Daily, of Somis ; Messrs. James Leonard, and Donlon Brothers, of Oxnard ; and Mr. T. F. McFarland, of Hueneme, who have kindly allowed the use of their fields for selection of plants; also to Messrs. F. A. Snyder, W. E. Goodyear, of Somis, James Leonard, Donlon Brothers, and the Patterson Ranch Company, of Oxnard, who have given material assistance by furnishing teams and labor and giving entertainment to the representa- tives of the station while making selections and harvesting the beans. 4, / L 'iBH 5$ i \ ■ \ ! Fig. 1. — A typical pole lima bean plant. THE PRODUCTION Of THE LIMA BEAN: THE NEED AND POSSIBILITY OE ITS IMPROVEMENT. By G. W. Shaw and M. E. Shebwin. Classification and description of the lima bean. The lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) is an annual plant of the family Leguminosce. The group includes also clovers, peas, beans and vetches and many other plants with the power to assimilate nitrogen from the air through parasitic bacteria. The name ''legume" is given to plants of this group because of their characteristic fruit case which is a legume or pod. Different genera of the group vary in habit of growth from small herbaceous plants to large trees. While the lima bean plants are Fig. 2. — Typical bush form of lima bean. Variety, Burpee's improved. all herbaceous, they, too, vary greatly in size and habit of growth. This variation in growth is so great as to warrant their primary classification into pole and bush forms. Recognized types of the bush forms are com- paratively recent, having been listed by seedmen only twenty years ; the pole forms a much longer time. The plant branches near the ground from a central stem. These branches in the pole forms are viny and twining, and are often eight feet in length. They can grow upward only when provided with some 202 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT STATION. support to which they can cling. The name "pole" is given because poles are commonly placed as supports for the vine or for strings which hold the vine. The branches of the bush forms are very much shorter, rarely exceeding two feet in length, and do not need to be held up by artificial means in order to grow upright. Their short and compact habit of growth causes them to be designated as ' ' bush. ' ' Only the pole forms are grown extensively in California, and not being provided with supports they trail on the ground. Fig. 3. — Showing typical lima bean leaves (one third natural size). Pinnate leaves with petioles several inches in length are formed at intervals along the stem, each leaf being made up of three ovate, deltoid, acute leaflets. Some varieties of limas have more slender and acute leaflets than others, and are called "Willow Leaf" because of this character. The leaflets appear either dull or glossy ; dull in the large, flat lima ; glossy in the small flat lima, or ' ' popper. ' ' Bulletin 2241 THE PRODUCTION OF THE LIMA BEAN. 203 Fig. 4. — Showing character of podding of large, flat lima bean of California variety, Daily ; one half natural size. 204 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. The inflorescence is borne in racemes or clusters. Each liower is white or greenish-white, and is about half an inch across the petals. The arrangement of the parts is papilionaceous, characteristic of the tribe to which the lima bean belongs. That is, three of the petals form a keel within which the stamens and style are spirally twisted. The pod is commonly about four inches long, varying, however, from two to seven inches. It is compressed and usually somewhat curved or scythe-shaped. The number of seeds in it vary from one to seven. The seed is kidney-shaped. Writers divide the limas, both pole and bush, into three general classes, according to size and shape of seed, as follows : (1) Large flat lima (P. lunatus macrocarpus) . (2) Large thick lima (P. lunatus macrocarpus) . (3) Small flat lima (P lunatus). Fig. 5. — Lima Bean leaves showing venation. The large, flat-seeded class is grown almost exclusively in California. Minor differences in shape of seeds are distinctive enough to furnish a basis on which further classification or division into varieties is made. The shape of seed 1 is said to be even more constant in color or plant; habit. It is by shape of seed that buyers distinguish varieties. The roots extend to a depth of three and a half to five or six feet. A tap root penetrates nearly straight down to this depth giving off smaller and more fibrous feeding rootlets at intervals. On plants examined in Ventura County, the number of rootlets did not seem to be numerous at any section of the tap root. In tropical climates the root is sometimes large and fleshy, and the plant lives more than one year. 1 Missouri Botanical Gardens, Twelfth Report 1901. Bulletin 224] THE PRODUCTION OF THE LIMA BEAN. I'M. PRODUCTION OF LIMA BEANS. Nativity. The lima bean has been supposed by different writers to have origi- nated in the East Indies, Africa, and South America. Of these three countries to which its origination has been credited, South America is Fig. 6. — Showing types of lima bean seed found in an Incas cemetery, near Cerro Blanco, Peru (natural size). now nearly determined as its starting point, and it is likely that it originated in Peru. The beans 1 have been found with the mummified bodies of the Incas in Peru, and the plant has been found growing wild in Brazil. Fig. 7 shows a number of the beans found in an Incas ceme- tery near Cerro Blanco, Peru. Professor Bailey 2 suggests that its name is taken from the city of Lima, capital of Peru. Geographical distribution. Lima beans have been known in Europe for more than three hundred years, but are cultivated in the United States more extensively than in any other country, being quite universally grown as a garden product. Some market gardeners of the East grow large quantities, disposing of them mostly as green shelled beans. California grows them extensively as a field crop, especially in Ventura County, supplying the markets of the country with the bulk of the dry shelled limas. Other counties of California which grow them are Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Orange, and San Diego. All varieties grown in the United 'Some of the beans may be seen in the Museum of Anthropology at the Affiliated Colleges, San Francisco. 'Cornell Univ. Bui. 87. 206 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. States have originated here. The seeds are quite uniformly white, while foreign varieties are commonly red, speckled or black. Many of these foreign varieties are in use in South America and tropical countries, but are not known to the table in this country. They are generally late maturing and strictly local varieties. Limiting factors — Climate. Severity of climate more than any other factor limits the production of limas. All beans are cut by frost, but limas are more easily hurt by cold than the common kidney bean (P. vulgaris) . It is useless to plant the former till the ground becomes warm and in good tilth. If planted earlier than this, the seed is liable to rot before germination, and those plants that start will become so stunted by cold as to be small producers. In the East it is customary to plant limas about ten days later than kidney beans. In Ventura County, they are planted from four days to a week later, but the kidney beans are planted on the higher and drier lands. As limas are late maturing plants, they are often caught in the eastern and northern states by early autumn frost, which kills the vine ; and in California by early autumn rains, which injure or destroy a portion of the beans by wetting and subsequent rotting in the field. However, as the pods begin to ripen a considerable time before the plant normally dries up, a fair crop may be harvested before frost or rain comes on, even though many pods are still immature. Lima beans delight in warm, summer weather, but if the relative humidity is low, they suffer in consequence. Bean growers in Ventura County say that limas will ' ' make a crop out of fog. ' ' Along the coast, which is the heaviest producing section, the fogs are remarkably constant in the night and early morning, and when for a week or ten days these fogs are lacking, the bean crop suffers markedly. The small pods which are just forming dry up and fall off without making seed. The heavy fogs which roll in may add a little moisture to the surface soil for a time, but not enough to reach the roots and aid the plants directly. The great benefit of the fog is in lessening evaporation and tempering the atmosphere, less water passing from the plant into moist atmosphere than would pass into dry atmosphere. To show the difference between coast and valley conditions, meteoro- logical data are given. Table I gives the relative humidity at 8 a. m. and 8 p. m. 75th meridian, corresponding to 5 a. m. and 5 p. m. local time, and maximum and minimum temperatures of Los Angeles and Fresno during the months of May, June, July, and August, 1908. Los Angeles is taken as representing the atmospheric conditions of the lima bean section more nearly than any other station reporting humidity. Probably the humidity of Ventura County coast region is a trifle higher. In an atmosphere with relative humidity as low as that of Fresno, limas are greatly injured at the prevailing temperatures. Even along the Bulletin 224] THE PRODUCTION OF THE LIMA BEAN. 207 coast, a few days of low humidity and high temperature, such as the period from July 16th to July 21st, injures the beans, and in the drier soils, causes some dropping of pods. We have then, frost and cold weather limiting the growth in the eastern states, while low humidity of atmosphere, together with cold spring weather and rainy autumns restricts the growth in California. It should be noted here that with no summer rains the California-grown limas, although pole varieties, do not need to be poled. The vines run on the ground with no damage whatever to the beans. This is, of course, a great saving of labor and expense to California growers, giving them a material advantage over growers in regions of summer rains. TABLE I. Showing mean relative humidity and maximum and minimum of interior valley and southern coast section. Relative humidity. p. m. Temperature. Max. Min. May, 1908— Fresno County Los Angeles County June, 1908— Fresno County Los Angeles County July, 1908— Fresno County Los Angeles County August, 1908— Fresno County Los Angeles County 72.8 55.4 35.1 87. 54.8 26.2 57. 12.9 10.5 54. 90.6 73.1 104.9 81.2 99.5 79.5 48.4 50.5 54.8 53.1 68.1 59.1 63.5 Soil. The profitable production of lima beans is limited to some extent by soil, though not so much as by climate. Limas are grown on soil ranging all the way from sandy to adobe. The lima bean plant, like all other Leguminosce, does not grow well on an acid soil; neither does it thrive on an alkali soil. California soils being mostly arid or semi-arid are not badly leached, hence lime is usually abundant, insuring freedom from acidity. But the same aridity and consequent lack of leaching is responsible for the accumulation in some lands of considerable amounts of alkali salts, enough to limit the area and the production in the counties where the bulk of the limas is grown. The amount of alkali which this bean can endure and still produce paying crops has not been definitely determined, but it is not high. However, experience has shown that the lima will bear more alkali than the Blackeye, Lady Washington, or other beans of the species P. vulgaris, or common kidney bean. Not- withstanding this degree of alkali resistance, many fields in Ventura 208 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. County which produce fair crops at a good profit have spots where the plants have died or languish because of alkali. About harvest time, in looking over the fields, the areas of heavier alkali can be distinguished by a difference in color caused by a slightly earlier ripening of the plants on the alkali ground. Fig. 7. — Showing effect of alkali upon lima bean plants. The effect of alkali upon this plant is shown in Figs. 8 and 9. The former shows individual bean plants from the field illustrated in Fig. 9. Plant 1 was taken from row 1, and plant 2 from row 3, and plant 3 from row 5. The soil on the left gradually increased in the amount of alkali present, and to the right of row 1 these salts were too concen- trated to permit the growth of any bean plants at all. The gradation of the alkali in the field is shown in the following table : Pounds per acre foot. Sulfates. Carbonates. Chlorides. Total. Number of bean plants growing . _ j 400 240 240 80 3820 1200 200 4400 Bean plants very poor _ . __ _ . _ _ i 1200 264H Bean plants good . i 1600 1860 Bulletin 2 24] THE PRODUCTION OF THE LIMA BEAN. 209 On another field, beans were doing well on a soil carrying soluble salts as follows : Pounds per ' acre foot. Sulfates - 1000 Carbonates Nil Chlorides 1020 Total From the above, it would appear that the carbonates were the primary limiting factor, and that the chlorides were second in limiting the growth of the plant. A light, warm, "quick" soil is desirable in order that early planting may be done without danger of injury from cold, also to avoid loss by autumn rains. More importance is attached to this character of the soil in the East than in California, because of the shorter growing season in the East. Within the area in California, where profitable production is possible, different soils greatly influence the growth. Where the water-table is at such a level that the plants send their roots down to the moisture which rises from it by capillarity, the limas do exceedingly well, and are not so badly affected by the hot dry days. They will endure very dry soil on the surface after their roots become established below. The deep-rooting habit of the plant adapts it for this condition, viz., dry surface with water-table a few feet below, which is the prevaling condition in part of the Ventura County valley lands. The difference in time of maturity is very great between sandy and clayey soils, and still greater between dry and moist soils. A difference of a week may be observed in the same field, due to physical variations in the soil, and much more than this difference in time has been fre- quently observed within the distance of a few miles. Thus, on one side of El Rio de Santa Clara, a black adobe field ripens regularly two weeks later than a lighter field on the other side of the river, even though both fields are planted at the same time; and the same difference in time is seen between the latter of these soils, which is typical of soils around Oxnard, and the still lighter and dryer soils around Somis. Here, how- ever, a difference in time of planting may be responsible for part of the difference in time of ripening. It seems that the water supply of the soil more than the texture is responsible for this difference in time of ripening, as irrigation on light soils causes the same lateness in maturity. Thus, we find a tendency toward the perennial habit which the plant maintains under the humid conditions of the tropics. Soils with much nitrogen tend toward late maturity, hence the limas ripen later on land which has been recently manured. On the other 210 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. hand, the mineral elements tend toward early maturity. Limas require a richer soil than do the white kidney beans ; the pole varieties require a richer soil than the bush varieties. It may be said that all those soil conditions which tend to delay ripening tend also to increase the yield of beans, provided, of course, Fig. 8. — Showing effect of alkali upon a field of lima beans, Oxnard, Cal. ripening is not too long delayed. On these late lands the plants begin to ripen pods in nearly normal time, i. e., within the season, but instead of the plant drying up at this time, it continues to bloom and set pods. The number of early pods is less than when the whole plant prepares to ripen early, and the first pods are later than on the early ripening plants. Bulletin 224] THE PRODUCTION OF THE LIMA BEAN. 211 Climate and flora of Peru compared with California. It will be well here to make mention of conditions in Peru under which the lima bean probably originated. We find in Peru a remarkable likeness to California soil and climate. Although Peru is in location a tropical country, its climate is more nearly like that of California than is the strictly tropical area. Peru is more temperate than its geograph- ical position indicates. Along the coast around Lima and to the south, the yearly range of relative humidity is from about 74 to 92. This is very like the conditions existing along the California coast in Ventura and adjoining counties where limas are so largely grown. The soil along the coast of Peru is so dry that clothing buried with the bodies of the Incas has not decomposed or lost its bright colors during a period of perhaps a thousand years. It is here that seeds of corn and beans have been found in a good state of preservation. Back from the coast in the foothill and mountain region there is heavier rainfall, supporting pasture and grain crops. In this section the flora of every zone is represented, from the tropical in the deep gorges to the Arctic approaching the snow line. Above an elevation of 2,000 feet potatoes, beans and cereals are reported as yielding excellent crops. As would naturally be the case in similar climates the flora of the two countries is much alike. And while in the tropics, generally, plants do not come to maturity readily, in Peru they mature as well as in Cali- fornia. Moreover, maturity can be controlled in Peru by means of irrigation as has been mentioned for this state. The Industry as practiced in California. Lima bean growing in California started about forty years ago in the Carpinteria Valley. At first it was merely experimental, but, being highly successful, was taken up by many farmers. Its success continued, the profits being greater than from any other crops previously grown in the valley. This caused its trial in other valleys and other sections of the State, but the area of successful production on a large scale appeared limited to certain sections near the place of its original trial, viz., the Carpinteria, Santa Clara of the south and other coast valleys of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. It was about 1884 when the successful growing of limas became general in the valleys of these two counties. The reasons for general success at this time were two : first, the cultural methods became more intensive with smaller farms; and, second, the Lewis variety of limas, selected about 1888 by a man whose name the bean bears, seemed better adapted to the prevailing conditions over a large area than other varieties. The area of production is now extending further south into Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties. In these counties the yield is fair; however, it is not likely that the growth of limas will take a place to any great extent in the 212 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. intensive farming already practiced in those counties, as limas can not replace the citrus and walnut orchards. Nevertheless, there are certain areas of more extensively farmed land which can be planted to limas with profit, either continuously or in rotation with the grain crops now grown. Following is an outline of the cultural methods practiced in Ventura County. Methods here are typical of the whole region. Preparation of the soil. This is thoroughly done, the growers having learned by practice that good preparation pays ; in fact, very much more cultivation is given the soil before seeding than after. The land is plowed preferably as early as possible in the fall, i. e., immediately following the first fall rains. Fig. -A chisel cultivator used in preparation of land for lima bean seeding. This puts it in condition to absorb all the rain which subsequently falls. Plowing is done to a depth of eight inches, and land is left without further working till most of the winter rain has fallen — about February 1st. A few fields are given a shallow plowing in the fall, and a deeper plowing after the winter rains. As early as the ground is dry enough it is worked twice with a chisel (see Fig. 10). As will be seen in the figure, the chisel is a cultivator with many arched narrow teeth, or shovels, each of which is called a chisel, arranged in regular order on a frame, the frame being supported on wheels. Levers are provided to raise and lower the chisels at will. These chisels penetrate the ground, which by this time is rather compacted, tearing up the weeds and loosening the surface of the soil. From now till planting time a surface Bulletin 2 24] THE PRODUCTION OF THE LIMA BEAN. 213 mulch of dry loose soil is maintained to lessen evaporation. The imple- ment used for this is a cyclone (Fig. 11). This consists essentially of a plank frame set flat with its lower front edge beveled, the plank having cross pieces on top to each of which a steel knife is bolted. The knives are uniformly set with the cutting edge lower than the blunt edge at an angle from both vertical and horizontal. They extend back and down, and are then bent toward the middle of the implement, form- ing on the inner side an acute angle with the line of the long plank frame. It will be noticed that this knife, set at an angle, is a feature Fig. 10. — The cyclone cultivator used in the preparation of land for lima beans. of nearly all the cultivating implements in use, also of the cutters men- tioned later. This implement cuts off the weeds just below the surface, mashes the clods and pulverizes the surface soil. It is used at intervals from four to six times before the beans are planted. This conserves the soil moisture, compacts the lower soil layer, and gives a loose, mellow surface layer — an ideal seed bed. Such cultivation is necessary because no rain ordinarily falls between planting and harvesting of the crop. The same effect is often secured by the use of the spring-tooth harrow. Planting. Planting is done from May 1st to May 25th, at the rate of forty-five to sixty-five pounds per acre, according to the moisture condition and fertility of the soil. The beans are planted in rows thirty to thirty-six inches apart, eight to twelve inches apart in the row, a single seed being dropped in a place. On the heavier and more moist soils, where the growth of vines is rank, the wider distances are given between rows. There is some difference of opinion as to the best distance apart to have 2— bul 224 214 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. the rows, but it is agreed that they should be closer than on the lighter soils. Where results on the light soils have been carefully compared with results on heavy and irrigated or moist soils, the wider distance mentioned seems best both between rows and between plants in the row. Fig. 11. — A planting scene at the Dixie Thompson ranch ; 160 acres are seeded per day. The writer has had his attention called to fields bearing a very heavy crop of beans which had so great distance between plants in the row that the grower had been in doubt in the spring whether to leave the field as it was or replant it. Yet it is almost certain that a greater yield i — . — —» — ■ ... . ■"• Fig. 12.— The type of lima bean seeder used in Ventura County, California. v/as obtained than if the stand of plants had been what is considered perfect. This conclusion is based on the fact that other fields adjoining, with no apparent difference in soil or culture conditions, except thicker, and hence "better" stand, did not give as high a yield of beans. The best rate of planting is possibly influenced by the variety of beans Bulletin 224] THE PRODUCTION OF THE LIMA BEAN. 215 planted, but this influence is small among the varieties extensively grown. However, the amount of water applied in irrigation does influence it considerably. Seed is put in with the type of planter shown in Fig. 13. Two inches in the moist soil are considered the best depth of planting. Some planters are furnished with horizontal revolving plates in the bottom of the seed box, having holes through which the beans drop into the tube leading to the shoe. By using sets of plates having different numbers of holes, the intervals between dropping of the single seeds ,and hence the distance between plants in the row, can be regulated. The plate is simlar to a corn planter plate. Other planters are provided with shallow cups or projections with one surface concave, arranged on an endless chain. When the planter is in motion, the chain moves upward through the bean hopper, and, catching one bean in the concave surface, drops it on turning to complete the circuit so that it falls into the tube and through the shoe to the ground. Obviously the number of cups on the chain and its speed regulate the distance between seeds in the row. The cups are made to carry only one bean at a time. Cultivation. The beans are cultivated while young, one, two or three times, the average number of cultivations being two or a little more. The fields Fig. 13. — Showing type of cultivator most commonly used for the lima bean crop. are ordinarily kept free from weeds from the time of chiseling in the winter till the vines cover the ground. Cultivation must cease when the vines get large, as not being provided with supports they spread across the row and would be badly injured by the passage of the culti- 21 6 I \ I V ERSITY OF CALTFOKN [A — EXPER [ M E3NT STATION. vator. After the vines have made such a growth as to practically cover the ground, the mulch is not so much needed to prevent evaporation. The long vines are also of benefit on some lands to prevent excessive rise of alkali salts. One type of cultivator is shown in Fig. 14. This has the characteristic diagonal or V-shaped knives. Some cultivators have one large V replac- ing the two small ones in the middle, as shown in the figure. This implement cultivates two rows at a time. The knives can be raised and lowered by levers, and are usually set to run about an inch below the surface of the soil. This cuts the w T eeds, leaving them standing in place, but the surface soil being entirely dry they soon wilt and die, whereas if turned up with an amount of moist soil, as is often done with shovel cultivators, some of the w^eeds are merely transplanted. Any weeds left in the rows and those which start after cultivation ceases are cut with a hoe. Irrigation. As has already been said, there is normally no rain on the bean crop from planting till harvest, the ground, of course, becoming very dry. Hence irrigation has been found profitable, the production in many fields being doubled by the use of water. The most common method of irrigation is by the row system. Furrows are made between all the rows with an implement carrying four broad shovels, furrowing between four rows at a time. Water is run in these furrows for the desired time, after which the land is leveled by a shallow cultivation. This prevents excessive evaporation which would take place if the furrows were allowed to bake in the sun. Usually only one irrigation is given, and that about July 1st, just before cultivation ceases. Two and one half to three acre-inches per acre are applied at this time. A few fields are subirrigated by seepage from ditches around the fields. One ranch which uses this method irrigated three times, keeping water in the ditches two weeks at a time, with two weeks intervening between irrigations. The yield is very satisfactory. All irrigation water comes from wells averaging about one hundred and fifty feet in depth. Some of these are flowing ; in others, the water comes close to the surface. Gasoline engines are used to furnish power in pumping water over the field. Harvesting and caring for the crop. In the sections of light and unirrigated land, the beans ripen from August 20th to September 10th. In the irrigated portions and on heavier land, they ripen from September 10th to September 25th or October 1st. These dates indicate the time the beans are harvested. Before the earliest date for each section there will be some dry pods in BULLKTIX 2 24] THE PRODUCTION OF THE LIMA BEAN. 217 all the fields and at the latest date of harvest there are always green pods. Early ripening fields usually get drier before being harvested than the late ripening fields, as the cutting in the late fields is com- menced before the beans are well ripened in order to get the beans out of danger of rain. When bean growing in California was begun on a commercial scale, the plants were pulled at harvest time by Chinamen by means of a hook. This, however, was very slow and laborious, and cutters were made so that harvesting could be done by horse power. A sled cutter Fig. 14. — Showing - sled cutter for harvesting lima beans. is shown in Fig. 15. The original cutter and the one most largely used at present is a sled with two runners twelve to fifteen inches high. On the inner side of each a knife is set diagonally backward and toward the middle of the sled. A few inches above each knife is a bar of iron or wood set in a similar position. The sled runners are such a distance apart that two rows of beans will pass between them. Hence each knife is drawn along the line of the row cutting the plants just below the surface of the ground. The diagonal position of the knife causes it to cut the plants clean without pulling up by the roots, and together with the diagonal bar above, pushes both rows to the middle, leaving them together in a windrow. These cutters are often mounted on wheels (see Fig. 16) to bear the 218 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. main weight of the sled and driver, the runner cutting into the ground just enough to hold it firmly to the row. Levers are provided to raise and lower the frame of the sled. A man with two or three horses, usually three, cuts from eight to twelve and one half acres a day. The claim is made that two horses on a wheeled cutter can get over as much ground and do it as easily as three on a sled cutter. But greater care has to be taken in driving to keep the wheeled cutter to the row, hence with the class of labor usually obtainable, the sled cutter does better work, and is for this reason more desirable. __^^tt^Kff(^^A %w *? 3fr£ m l '-"' ' "- : " ".7- _ : . ,„._. - - - - - f . ' V. Fig. 15. — Lima bean harvester or cutter on wheels. The vines, after lying in windrows, as left by the cutter, for a few hours, are piled by hand with pitchforks. Three windrows are com- monly placed together in one row of piles. Piles are four or five feet in diameter on the ground and three feet high. They remain in these piles till very dry, which is a length of time varying with the weather and the maturity of the beans, but usually from two to three weeks. They seem to dry better if the leaves are not allowed to dry by direct sun before piling. The explanation is that the leaves, on drying by direct sun, become unable to transpire the moisture of the plant as readily as when slowly cured in the pile. It is said that vines will be dry enough to thresh if placed immediately in piles quicker than if left in small windrows. The vine gives up its moisture very slowly except when evaporated through the leaves. A man is expected to pile about five acres a day, but frequently does not pile more than two or three. It requires from two to three men to handle the beans cut with one sled. Japanese and Mexican laborers are Bulletin 2 2 4] THE PRODUCTION OF THE LIMA BEAN. 219 largely used for this, though not exclusively. The advantage of having this class of labor is that they board themselves on the ranch, and can be more depended on to do a good day's work than the transient class of white labor. Japanese contractors usually agree to furnish the labor for a specified rate per day for each man in the field, the contractors taking a certain amount, usually ten cents per day per man, for their services, turning the balance over to the laborers. This saves the grower the trouble of looking up individual laborers. Threshing and recleaning. Threshing is done by itinerant machines, using for power either steam or gasoline engines. The machines thresh from one thousand to twenty- five hundreds sacks per day, fifteen hundred being a fair day's work. Wk^^^K/B^SSm *w» ■i Fig. 16. — Threshing lima beans on the Dixie Thompson ranch, Ventura, Cal. In a few instances about three thousand sacks have been threshed in a day. The charge is usually twenty-five cents a hundred pounds, equal to twenty cents a sack. For small jobs in out-of-the-way places, this charge is exceeded by as much as fifteen cents a hundred pounds. This pays for the hauling of beans from the field to the machine and labor of sacking ; in fact, all labor connected with threshing, except that of haul- ing the threshed beans to storage. The general construction of the threshing machines is the same as of the itinerant machines used in threshing cereals. The bean threshers, however, have three cylinders which are run at a speed of 280 to 350 revolutions per minute instead of a single cylinder running at the speed of 1.100 revolutions per minute. The cylinder teeth are set to run five eighths of an inch from the teeth of the concave as against three eighths in cereal threshers. The use of three cylinders with teeth set five eighths of an inch from the teeth of the concave avoids an excessive breaking and splitting of the beans which would occur with the single cylinder running at high speed with teeth set close. When a single cylinder is 220 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA— EXPERIMENT STATION. used the number of teeth is reduced about two thirds. There is a difference in ease of threshing different varieties, but a bean hard to thresh is said not to split any worse than a bean easy to thresh. The amount of ' ' splits ' ' is due to the management of the machine. The beans are stored in large warehouses until marketed, and are generally recleaned. Formerly hand picking was the common practice in recleaning, but a few years ago a mechanical recleaner which is very satisfactory was invented. The novelty of the machine is its simplicity, the part performing the work which formerly required hand picking, that of removing the "splits" being merely two rubber covered rollers or cylinders about two feet in diameater and supported at a slight angle from horizontal. The rollers are near together, being separated only by a small ridge or peak of wood at the place of nearest contact. It is over this dividing ridge that the beans slide on to the rollers. The rubber covering the rollers is rough so that the split beans being flat remain on it and are carried over the top, being dropped in a trough on the outside as the rollers slowly revolve away from each other; the whole being received at the end on screens which separate out the trash and immature beans. No other device than this rubber covered roller has ever been made which will as effectually remove the ' ' splits. ' ? Yield and value of crops. As stated above, the production of lima beans is restricted to a com- paratively small area, the center of which is in Ventura County. The following, which is a portion of an article clipped from the Ventura Daily Democrat, gives the acreage and yield of lima beans in Ventura County in 1908. "Experimentation in various crops continued until the middle eighties some one tried the growing of lima beans. The effera was entirely successful, and to-day Ventura is known through the world as the 'bean county.' She raises three fourths of the lima beans of the world. On 60,000 acres last year there were raised 825,000 sacks of limas of eighty pounds each now selling at 4 cents per pound. ' ' The production, 1908, of the State and of certain counties is as follows : Sacks. Ventura County 834,000 Santa Barbara County Los Angeles, Orange and other counties. Total 45,000 225,000 1,099,000' Bulletin 224] THE PRODUCTION OF THE LIMA BEAN. 221 The figures for the lima bean crop of 1910, as furnished by Mr. Water- man, manager of the Lima Bean Growers' Association, are as follows: Sacks. Ventura County Orange County Santa Barbara County Los Angeles County __. San Diego County 800,000 150,000 75,000 75,000 60,000 Total 1,160,000 The above represents a total acreage of about 82,850 acres devoted to this crop. The weight of limas per sack is eighty pounds; formerly eighty-two pounds. The average yield is about fourteen sacks per acre, or about eleven hundred and twenty pounds. Some fields produce nearly three times this amount, but in the best section an average of twenty-five sacks or two thousand pounds per acre is considered satisfactory. Cost of production. It is difficult to arrive at a definite figure as to the average cost of production, but an approximate figure may be obtained from the expense account of one ranch operating in a large way at Oxnard. 1910. 750 acres . 1909. 680 acres . Preparation of land, per acre Seed Hand cleaning seed Planting Care of crop Threshing Sacks and twine Recleaning and storage ^Turning $6.63 3.00 .20 .35 2.35 2.65 .70 1.00 .50 $17.35 £5.92 4.50 1.75 4.30 1.15 .85 The above figures will doubtless represent a fair average when one is operating in a large way. It is probable that about $18.00 per acre will represent nearly the average cost of production, taking one year with another. On small places, where the cultivation is more intense, the cost of production may run $25.00, but the yields are more than proportionately increased. The bean straw valuable. Another factor which is of importance and which has only recently come to be appreciated, is the value of the bean straw as rough feed. Formerly this straw was nearly all burned or allowed to rot in large ir This was an extra expense due to rain. 222 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. piles or used as a "fill" for ditches. Some years ago, certain published analyses 1 brought attention to the real nutritive value of the straw, probably starting its use in a small way. However, the demand for it has never been great nor the price per ton as high as seems warranted by its composition when compared with other hay. For the small amount sold, the price received is usually five dollars a ton, baled. The highest price received is eight dollars a ton, which, due to the scarcity and extremely high price of other hay, is now (1909) being paid. The yield is about equal to the weight of beans, or one ton per aci*e on the better land. Hence the price per ton may be considered as its value per acre. Of course, considerable more of this bean straw is eaten by stock than is sold, and in this case its full value is received. It is generally regarded that the straw is worth about $1.00 per ton in the field, loose. Below are some analyses, part of which have heretofore been unpub- lished. Note especially that the amount of digestible nutriment in 100 pounds of lima bean straw is almost equal to that in the same weight of average barley hay, and that the nutritive ratio shows lima bean straw to be more nearly a balanced ration. Analysis of alfalfa hay is included in the tables for comparison. ^Analyses of Lima Bean Straw, Barley and Alfalfa Hay. Lima bean straw. 2 Common barley hay. 2 Alfalfa I. II. ■m. hay. Water _ 11.00 5.78 1.94 47.20 26.13 7.95 14.00 5.22 .74 39.60 36.14 4.30 10.00 10.72 1.92 46.66 21.14 9.56 6.44 11.11 2.38 50.37 22.55 7.15 10.95 Protein ~ 17.60 Pat _ _ — 3.08 Carbohydrates 39.31 Crude fiber .. 22.63 Ash 6.43 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 Wry Matter and Digestible Nutrients in 100 Pounds. Lima bean straw. Barley hay average. Alfalfa hay. Dry matter in 100 pounds 90.0 lbs. 5.4 lbs. 38.8 lbs. 1.2 lbs. 1:7.7 91.5 lbs. 5.8 lbs. 43.1 lbs. 1.6 lbs. 1: " 89.1 lbs. Digestible nutrients in 100 pounds — Protein . __ __ _ 12.3 lbs. Carbohydrates _- 37.1 lbs. Pat .. 1.6 lbs. Nutritive ratio 1:3.3 Four cents a pound may be considered as an average price for the crop for years past, although frequently it rises to above five. This Calif. Agric. Exp. Station, Bui. 132. 1 Analyses by Professor M. E. Jaffa. California Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin 132. Bulletin 224] THE PRODUCTION OP THE LIMA BEAN. 223 gives an average gross value of $45.00 per acre for the beans. Adding to this $1.00 per acre for the value of the straw, gives a total of $46.00 per acre. The total cost of producing a crop is from $20.00 to $25.00 an acre, depending partly upon whether or not irrigation is used. The average total cost of production is probably less than $20.00 an acre, leaving an average of at least $26.00 net to the grower. Value of land. It is this annual net profit of $26.00 an acre which is obtained from large fields without truly intensive culture and without technical knowl- edge of the industry that gives land its present value. Land adapted to lima bean growing sells for from $250.00 to $500.00 an acre without buildings, and even higher prices have been refused for fields to which the writer's attention has been called. These prices are justified, and are most quickly paid by those farmers, who, having lived in that section, know by experience what the land will produce. Rotation. Generally speaking, there has been little call, as yet, for rotation crops on the lands devoted to lima bean production. In most cases there seems to have been an increased productiveness, such as one might expect from the fact that the beans, as in the case of all plants of the legumi- nosse are in themselves fertilizers, owing to their peculiar habit of fixing riitrogen from the air. The effect of their increased fertility is partic- ularly noticed with grain or hay crops following on land that has been devoted to limas. The effect of deep preparation of the soil, clean, thorough culture, and nitrogen-fixing character of the plant, has been towards increased fertility of these lands. The time will doubtless come, however, when crop rotation, or the use of mineral fertilizers is demanded to account for the gradual drain upon the potash and phos- phoric acid. To some extent, beans are rotated with the sugar beet on the medium heavy soils, but usually to the expense of the bean crop, but with benefit to the beet crop. The only condition under which the bean crop seems to have benefited, is upon fields which were formerly too strongly impregnated with soluble salts to allow of successful bean culture. Sugar beets upon such lands gradually reduce the alkali content. Implements used. The implements and machinery used in the lima bean industry have largely been perfected in the lima bean region of California. The object here has always been to overcome the defects of eastern implements in lightness of construction, and to minimize hand work. How well they have succeeded in doing away with hand work may be seen from the fact that one man can care for from eighty to one hundred acres with extra help for a few days at hoeing and harvest seasons. To 224 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT STATION. avoid defects of eastern manufactured implements and get implements adapted to the local soils, most farmers use implements made in local shops. General mention of these has been made under the various cultural operations. Varieties. As stated in previous pages, the pole type of lima is the one almost exclusively grown in California. The commercial bean is mainly of two varieties of local selection, viz., the Daily and the Lewis. One of the principal dealers in seed limas estimates that in Ventura County the Lewis type comprises from two thirds to three fourths of the total acre- age and the Daily about one fourth to one third. Other types are almost a negligible quantity. The former variety, developed by Mr. Joe Lewis, of Camarillo, is a somewhat smaller bean in size, less vining in its habit and matures earlier, and many think it more prolific. It certainly seems to be better adapted to moist lands and to localities where beans have a tendency to ripen late. This renders it bet- ter adapted for use under irri- gated conditions. This bean has much the wider use near the coast, where the general tend- ency is toward late maturity. The Daily bean was selected by Mr. Chas. Daily, of Somis. It is of more recent origin than the Lewis type. It is a vigorous grower and has a heavy twining character, the runners them- selves setting more heavily thaii the Lewis type. It is better adapted to the regions further from the coast. Under the pres- ent conditions it would probably be an advantage to growers near the coast to secure for their seed the Lewis type, which lias been grown further inland, as the tendency will be toward earlier ripening, although the development of an earlier matur- ing type in the coast region would be of much more permanent worth. The King of the Garden variety was formerly grown quite exten- sively, but it has gradually given place to the former types. It is said Fig typical pod pole-lima. Daily Bulletin 224 I THE PRODUCTION OF THE 1,1 MA BEAN. 225 THE KINO OF GARDEN LIMA,— from a Photograph. to be a cross between the Large White lima and Dreer's Improved. This variety is medium early, a very vigorous and prolific one, but it is open to the objection of being tenacious in the pod, thus being more difficult to thresh. The loss from splitting of the beans is large. The beans are large, kidney shaped, and of excellent quality. The pods are from 5 to b\} inches in length. Were it not for the difficulty in threshing, it would be a strong rival to the Daily. A number of promising new local types have recently been developed, but have not, as yet, come into general use. Among them may be mentioned the following: The monstrous bush lima. This type was selected from the ranch of Mr. A. J. Young, in Orange County, in 1905, and introduced by Aggeler and Musser of Los Angeles, in 1908. It is a very large bean with a rich, nutty flavor. The bean seems to be quite hardy, for Mr. W. H. Brown, of Orange County, states that his vines survived the win- ter, and that he sold beans from his old vines early in June of the following year. On ac- ' count of the extreme growing habits of this bean, it is recommended to plant rows eight feet apart, six feet between plants in the row. On speaking of this bean, Mr. L. F. Johnson, of Long Beach, California, says: "I thought you w T ere exaggerating when you told me to plant them six by eight feet. I planted them 3 by -4 feet, and now I have a field of vines too much shaded to bear a big crop." Carpinteria. This is one of the new types and was devel- oped by Mr. Henry Fish, of Carpinteria. Its distinctive character is the decidedly green tint of the bean, which it retains even in the dry state. It is said to be a strong, vigorous grower, and as prolific as the white limas. It produces long runners, which pod heavily. The bean itself is broad and thicker than the ordinary sorts. This type is being introduced by Vaughn's Seed House, Chicago. Fig. 18. 226 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. Burpee's giant podded lima. This is a late introduction, which seems to be meeting with some favor. It is said to be earlier than King of the Garden. The vines are excep- tionally vigorous growers and attain a length of 8 to 12 feet, and them- selves produce many laterals which are productive. The pods are Fig. 19. — The Fordhook bush lima (natural size). Fig. 20. — Burpee's improved bush lima (natural size). Bulletin 224] THE PRODUCTION OF THE LIMA BEAN. 227 exceptionally large, often measuring 7 to 8 inches, and 1J inches in width. The beans themselves are nearly as thick as those of the potato lima type and with a strong, thin skin. The type was developed by Mr. N. S. Prime, of Huntington, N. Y., and is being introduced by Burpee, Philadelphia. Isabell's perfect early. This variety is worth a careful trial. The vine is said to be very hardy and vigorous. The pods are long, curved and sharply tipped; the beans large and easily threshed. It is handled by S. M. Isabell & Company, Jackson, Mich. The Cornell (N. Y.) Experiment Station 1 has tested a large number of the pole limas and names the following as being desirable, relatively early, prolific varieties of good quality, and some of them might be worthy of careful trial in California : Bliss (also called Extra Early, and Extra Early Jersey) and Kaighn's Improved; and of the potato types of limas, Dreer's Improved. Pro- fessor Bailey 1 pronounces this a strong, productive grower, which can be particularly recommended "for its quality and for the large yield of shelled beans in proportion to the bulk of pods. " It is further com- mended for its earliness and ease of threshing, "from the fact that the pods are entirely full of beans, forming one against the other, like peas in a pod." We have been able to make but little observation of the bush forms, but for localities of short season, and otherivise adapted to lima produc- tion, Burpee's Improved, Bush, the Fordhook, and Dreer's Bush, are probably the best of the type. The first named is shown in Figs. 2 and 21, the Fordhook in Fig. 20. NEED AND POSSIBILITY OF IMPROVEMENT. Present mixture of varieties and confusion of names. While cultural methods are entirely commendable, and implements the best known to the industry, there remains a great need of improve- ments in the bean itself. Seed has been shifted from place to place, varietal names sometimes being carried and sometimes forgotten. This has led to more or less mixtures of varieties and confusion of names. A lot of beans may be grown for a year or two with no variety name. Then a buyer pronounces the bean to be a certain variety, and it is so designated as long as grown in that locality. However, this confusion of varieties is no more than that in varieties of other general crops grown over the State and in other states. Neither is the mixture greater than among varieties of limas grown in the east. a Bul. No. 115, Cornell Experiment Station. 228 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. There come up from time to time certain strains which are selected of true and uniform type. These are rightly given a new name to des- ignate them as selected types. When grown generally, however, without continuing selection or paying special attention to avoid mixtures, they become mixed like the others. Yet the new type may dominate. An example of this is the Lewis lima, so extensively grown. It is from a selection made in the Carpinteria Valley about 1888 and bears the name of the originator. It is an earlier and shorter-vined bean than the stock from which it came, and its popularity among growers attests the fact of its being a real improvement for California conditions. How- ever, seed has become somewhat mixed with other varieties ; also lack of continued selection has allowed considerable un-uniformity of type. The other two types mainly grown are the Daily and King of the Garden. The last named, however, has been practically discarded on account of the tenacity of the pod and the consequent splitting of the beans in threshing. Present method of seed selection. Seed selection is at present practiced, but not such a method as will do much toward maintaining a definite, uniform type. The method used is that of hand picking for seed purposes, and amounts only to a good recleaning with elimination of the ' ' poppers, ' ' a well defined and unde- sirable bean of the small, flat class of limas. (See page 204.) This bean is undesirable not because of inferior taste or of production, but because its pods snap open when harvesting and handling the crop. Some growers consider this bean a deteriorated form of the large, flat lima, basing their judgment on the fact of its appearance in fields planted and hand-picked seed of the large, flat class. Other growers claim that it is a mixture of the Sievas. Both are probably right. The appearance of the " poppers " seems to be caused by reversion to an original type, which is the type of the Sieva. This accounts for its appearance in fields where seed of the Sieva or "popper" has neither been left in the ground the year before nor planted as a mixture with the large, flat seeded type. Professor Bailey, who has given consider- able attention to the lima bean, writes as follows concerning thep appearance: "I have no doubt but that the bean you sent me is one of the forms of the Sieva bean (Phaseolus lunatus) . This type of bean appears frequently in fields of lima beans, and is more likely to come in when the stock is not very carefully "roughed" or selected. I presume it is a reversion, although it is possible that it may be a mixture of seed. I should scarcely expect the latter. ' ' No doubt the fhixture in some California fields is at least partly due to the planting of the seed as a mixture with the other beans. The writer has seen hand-picked beans ready for planting in which some of the Bulletin 224] THE PRODUCTION OF THE LIMA BEAN. 229 "poppers" remained after hand picking. Neither is it surprising that such should be the case, for although the "popper" is quite easily recognized by its small size, together with thin, flat shape and ivory color, it requires great care and close attention to eliminate all of them from the general seed lot. And even if all the ' ' poppers ' ' are separated from the seed for planting, there may still be left some hybrids of the large, flat type and the Sieva, which will produce typical "poppers." Value of hand picking. The practice of hand picking is good just so far as it affects the qual- ity of the seed. By hand picking, a very large portion of the "poppers" are removed, and any seed of the large, flat class of limas which may be very small because unripe at harvest, and hence likely to make weak growth if planted, will also be removed, together with all decayed or moldy beans. This insures, as far as strong seed can, a good germination and even stand in the field the following season with a limited number of "poppers." It is a practice which is conducive to higher yields per acre from the seed used, but makes no pretension of permanently im- proving the seed. DESIRABILITY OF BETTER SELECTION. Value of selection. Of all the subjects related to better agriculture, no one subject is of greater importance than that of the improvement of the general crops by seed selection and breeding. This subject is of the greatest commer- cial importance, from the fact that it costs no more to grow improved varieties of farm crops than the unimproved sorts, while the increase in production, due to the use of improved seed, results in considerable additional profit. In late years there has been a great awakening on this subject, and marked improvement has resulted from selection and breeding as applied to corn, tobacco, cotton, wheat and oats, as well as with horticultural crops. The improvement of general farm crops has not advanced as rapidly as in the case of horticultural crops, because the necessity of such improvement has not been so apparent, but with the increasing price of land and greater attention being given to specialized and more intrinsic farming interest, such improvement of crops has now become as great as in the case of flowers and fruit and live stock. The object of seed selection is, of course, the development of im- proved varieties of crops adapted to commercial growing. The average yield of most of our cultivated crops is comparatively small where com- pared with the possibilities where improved seed and varieties are used. While the causes of this low average yield are many, one of the most potent is the use of seed of low vitality, giving a poor or uneven stand, 3— bul 224 230 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. and the use of varieties not adapted to local conditions. If nothing more is done than the overcoming of these difficulties, much of value would be accomplished. The income from the crops would be increased and with but little additional expense. The object of selection is the finding of the best plants in a variety, the propagation of these plants under favorable conditions until they may be depended upon to produce true to type under ordinary methods of cultivation, and thus securing a more desirable type for planting. The variability of individual plants of all crops is very great, so that the possibility of securing more vigorous and better strains is very wide and extends to every community. But the greater value of seed selection lies in the possibility of advance- |f ment, of intensifying desir- able characters in the most marked degree. The effi- ciency of this method is very great, as has been shown in selection of many field crops, notably wheat, corn and cot- ton, but its degree is, in all selection, dependent upon the intensity of the charac- ter in the plants selected, in other words, upon the standard of selection. Gal- ton 1 has shown that one generation of a 99 degree selection accomplishes more improvement than two gen- erations of 90 degrees selection, and is equal to perpetual 80 degree selection; that two generations of 99 degree selection are greater than four generations of 95 degree selection, or 90 degree selection carried to perpetuity. In view of this, the importance of selecting only the best plants for propagation of seed and further selection is readily seen. Adaptation to improvement of the lima bean. In considering the adaptation of field selection of individual plants to improvement of the lima bean, three things must be considered, viz., the variability of the lima bean in nature, its plasticity or ease of mold- ing, and the extent to which new or intensified characters can be fixed and made permanent in the newly molded type. If we walk through a field of limas about harvest time we will, per- Fig. 21. — Two plants of the Lewis variety- planted the same day in the same held. One is in full bloom ; the other is fully ripe. 'Quoted in Year Book of U. S. D. A. 1898. Bulletin 224] THE PRODUCTION OP THE LIMA BEAN. 231 haps, note first that there is a great difference in vine length of plants side by side. One plant will be spreading over the ground in all direc- tions with a very rank growth, while the plant beside it will seem neces- sarily limited to a small growth because of the rank growth of its fellows. If this difference could be traced back, it would often be found to have begun when the plants were very small and both had plenty of room. But, because it was natural for one plant to grow faster and stronger, this plant got the start, possibly limiting the growth of the other later when the demands of both were greater. Other plants will be found which are entirely green and in full bloom, while beside them will be plants almost or entirely dry. (See Fig. 22.) Some plants will be found with very few pods, while other plants will be heavily podded. Fig. 22. Showing difference in productiveness of two plants of the same variety growing side by side. The pods in each pile are the total pods of individual plants. (See Fig. 23.) Extremes will be noticed also in size of pods and other characters. (See Fig. 24.) It requires, then, only a short excursion into the field to satisfy one that the limas do vary in nature; in fact, few groups of plants will be found which show greater variations. Now the question arises, will it be possible to mold these plants alike, or to produce from one of them a type which will be uniform? Can we get the whole field of plants alike, or nearly so, in form, maturity, and fruiting habit? And can we mold into the plants in this uniform degree the best and most desirable characters which now mark any individuals? Furthermore, can these desirable characters be intensified to make still better plants? And lastly, will these characters become fixed and permanent in the plant, making a constant race? To intelligently answer these questions we must look back to nature and read nature's laws in what has been done with lima beans and other closely related species. We find variability in all species of plants. Certain species of Leguminosce, however, are notably variable, among others being Phaseolus and Vigna, the species name of the cowpea and a species very close to the lima bean in a natural classification. We find this latter species adapting itself to local soils and climate of the East, South, and Middle West in a really surprising extent. Short 232 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. maturing varieties are grown to the north and for catch crops in all regions of its growth. Varieties with heavy production of vine or of seed are grown for hay or grain, respectively. It has been found that to produce a new variety or type differing considerably from the parent Fig. :3. — Showing the difference in average size of pods on two plants and the plants on which they grew. The plant on the right is a "popper." variety, it needs only a change of soil and climate. It is found also to maintain this general type fairly well when grown under the same con- ditions which originated it ; hence we find it easily molded, and nature largely making her own selections, but still producing marked varia- Bulletin 224] THE PRODUCTION OP THE LIMA BEAN. 233 tions. In studying the lima bean, we find that varieties have been produced from pole forms which are constant in having the erect bush form. We also find great changes in other characters, but without the constancy which marks the bush character. However, as long as plants continue to vary, just so long is there chance of improvement. If a point of absolute constancy could be reached in regard to one or more characters, all improvement in those characters would necessarily stop. In the fact of variation is all hope of improvement f either temporary or permanent. Whether or not the plant can be molded into a uniform type depends on the species, and on the skill and patience of the plant breeder. It may be said of the lima bean, as well as of other species which vary naturally as much as the lima bean, that a type can un- doubtedly be obtained much more uniform than is at present grown under field conditions. The very fact that the lima bean has such a tendency to vary will doubtless make it hard to fix those variable characters. It must be re- membered, however, that the power to transmit its own character to its offspring is as much a character of the plant as any other. If, then, a desirable plant can be isolated, which for several generations demon- strates its power to transmit its characters with but little variations, it should be taken as the foundation stock of the new type. Having once obtained a desirable and somewhat dependable foundation stock, selec- tion should go on to take advantage of such variation as may occur on the side of improvement and to weed out those plants with atavistic tendencies. A quotation from De Vries 1 will emphasize the need of continuing the selection. He says: ''Hence, as a rule, we obtain, as a result of selection, a constant race. But . . . though the race is constant, it is not independent. Originated with selection, it is only with the continual aid of selec- tion that it can persist. If selection ceases, the descendants of even the most noble race will return in a few generations to the type of the species. " What we must select, then, is a plant with such an individuality that it will, with a minimum of selection, maintain its improved char- acters and type. A PRACTICAL PLAN OF SEED IMPROVEMENT. Description and general value. A better method of seed selection than the one now commonly prac- ticed (see page 229) would be in addition to that outlined above, the selection of individual plants in the field. This can be done at small cost, just before harvest of the general crop. The old method of har- vesting, that of pulling the plants, will have to be used, and, further- x TJnity in Variability. An address delivered before the University of Amsterdam, printed in Album der Natuur, No. 3, 1898. Translation printed in the University Chronicle. 234 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. more, the plants must be carried out of the field to be piled, in order that the selections shall not be in the way of the cutters at the harvest of the main crop. However, by taking the beans required for seed from near the sides of the field, one will avoid carrying the plants long distances. Before threshing the machine should be cleaned of any morning-glory or other weed seed which it might have, thus preventing, in large measure, the spreading of these pests from infected to unin- fected fields. This selection in the field would insure freedom of the seed from admixture of "poppers," while hand picking would add its benefit by eliminating any small or moldy seed. Uniformity of plant and of seed in all characters can also be obtained, giving a product such as the best markets demand, and for which the highest prices are paid. The grower himself can do much more than he is now doing toward improving his yield by seed selection. A practical method of seed improvement, which should be followed by every bean grower in Cali- fornia, is the maintenance of a seed plat. The method is simple and easily applied. First, select from the general field, at the time of crop maturity, a large number of plants that are manifestly heavily laden with ripe pods, choosing, so far as possible, those plants bearing a high average of beans to the pod. These plants should not be taken from spots where the stand is poor, nor from outside rows, nor from parts of the land which are unusually fertile, but should, rather, represent those grown upon the general soil condition. These selected plants should be removed from the field and threshed separately from the general crop. The seed, so selected, should be used upon a special seed plat the succeeding season, and the seed from this seed plat used in the second season for the general seeding. This selection could be carried still further by choosing the very best plants from the seed plat to be increased in the second season for subsequent use upon the seed plat, and thus introduce a little more vigorous selection. In order to accom- plish permanent results, the grower should practice such selection every year. More elaborate plans of selection could be worked out, but the gen- eral grower usually has not the time at his disposal to undertake more elaborate schemes. The above plan, however, is so simple that there is no apparent reason why it should not be quite universally applied to this as well as other crops. SPECIAL IMPROVEMENT DESIRABLE IN THE LIMA BEAN. Early maturity. It has been mentioned that the cutting of some fields is done before the plants are fully matured and before the beans have reached their full size. This indicates need of an earlier-maturing bean. This need was expressed to the writer by one man as follows: "We always have Bulletin 224] THE PRODUCTION OF THE LIMA BEAN. 235 to think about the early fall rains, and they are a constant worry until the beans are all in the warehouse. We do not often lose very much on account of the rains, but we have to be ready to cover up the beans any time of night ; and it is a great bother and extra work to dry the beans which get wet." The actual loss some seasons is considerable, as will be seen by the following clipping from the California Fruit Grower, annual review and harvest edition, December 14, 1907 : "The lima bean crop this year is about equal to that of last in size, but on account of rains which occurred during harvest, which caught a third of the crop in Ventura County, or about 200,000 bags in the field, it will mean that there will be this quantity of damaged beans offered on the market. The absolute damage is about 20 per cent of that portion which was out, but as the warehouses in the southern part of California are not equipped with facilities for hand picking prop- erly, it will be a very hard matter to make choice quality of the rain- damaged stock, and it will have to be marketed at a concession under the price of stock free from rain damage." About the same condition as this obtained in 1910 also. Notice that the damage reported, viz., 20 per cent of 200,000 bags is 40,000 bags worth at prevailing prices, fall of 1907, between $136,000 and $156,000. Is it to be wondered that the farmers worry? There is also a lowering of yield, the amount of which can only be conjectured, due to stunting of plants by cold east winds in May. These winds sometimes blast certain fields badly. Very strong east winds in the fall hasten the drying of the beans that are cut, but have been known to sweep the whole crop from the field. An earlier bean would escape the cold winds in May, also the strong winds and the rain of September. Yield. Another very desirable improvement is that of yield. Grant all other improvements, then, without high yield the grower does not want the plant. And the grower's position is indisputable. High yield is of first importance. In observing the plants in the field, vast differences can be seen in yield of individuals. However, it will be observed almost as plainly that the heaviest yielding plants are usually late maturing, and that the early maturing plants are light yielders. See charts Nos. I and II. If there is a chance of improvement by selection of those individuals showing marked character, these plants would seem to be the ones to start with to fix earliness in a high yielding strain. Time only will tell whether there is within one or more of these plants the power to trans- mit these desirable characters, yet it seems likely that among the num- 236 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. ber which will be tested for hereditary power, some will be found vastly better than the average of the fields at present. Galton, in his work on natural inheritance, describes an experiment with seeds of sweet pea {Lathy rus odoratus) in which progression was in proportion to deviation, viz., one third progression to two thirds regression. If such a relation should hold with some of these selections of limas, one or two years will show a marked improvement in both yield and earliness. Hardiness. It has been mentioned that the limas suffer from cold winds in the spring. However, there are certain plants which, although apparently exposed to exactly the same conditions as their fellows, are not injured so much, or even none at all. By taking seed from these seemingly resistent individuals, we should expect to produce, after several genera- tions, a strain capable of enduring and growing under colder atmos- pheric conditions than the original or parent type. Moreover, lengthen- ing the season of growth at its beginning might allow of earlier ripening and harvest — a distinct advantage. Selecting in like manner those plants which appear resistant to alkali might give a strain better suited to alkali soils than any varieties now grown. Such a strain would cause an increase in the acreage of limas in Ventura County. Quality. Another desirable improvement could be made in quality of shelled beans. This is at present especially desirable to the buyers, but would result in dollars to the growers. By quality is meant, not beans with a better flavor or more easily cooked, but beans which are uniform in size, shape and color and markings. Certain markets will not take the average quality of the product, but require the finest looking and most uniform lots that can be obtained. This necessitates grading of the beans. The culls go to the less discriminating markets mixed with other ungraded lots, and are sold at a lesser price than choice beans. Although at present a flat rate is paid the growers, the buyers and ship- pers grading the beans and shipping according to market demands, this flat rate might be increased or a sliding scale established to the benefit of the enterprising growers if a uniform type of bean could be fur- nished. This would not be possible with the present late maturity, as the small, immature bean would always have to be graded out, but might be possible with the establishment of an early maturing strain. In any case, the odd and angular-shaped beans should be eliminated, and this can doubtless be done by paying more attention to seed selec- tion, rejecting seed from those plants showing a tendency to angularity. Bulletin 224] THE PRODUCTION OF THE LIMA BEAN. 23 < PLAN OF IMPROVEMENT AS UNDERTAKEN. A plan of work, looking to the improvement of the lima bean, was begun in the summer of 1908 in cooperation with several Ventura County farmers. It is expected to continue this work for several years. In the selection of plants, special attention is being given to earliness where found in high yielding individuals. It was expected that those plants which blossomed heavily early in the season would also fruit heavily and ripen early. Hence, the first of July, when fields began to bloom, the earliest and heaviest blossoming plants were marked by means of a piece of lath two feet in length and set in the ground beside each plant. Ten thousand stakes were thus set to mark the same num- ber of early blooming plants, the time of selection covering a period of two weeks, and being made in both early and late blooming plants in each field. "While there were individual cases in which the early bloom- ing plants did not ripen early, the average time of ripening of these marked plants was earlier than the average of the field. Moreover, an advantage was gained in case of selection by marking the plants before the vines became so intertwined as to make it difficult to recognize individuals. If the early selection had not proven satisfactory, there was still the opportunity of selecting early maturing plants in the fall. But the marked plants being satisfactory as to earliness, it was thought to be of no use to make later selections of other plants. The selected plants, although earlier in maturity by perhaps four days than the average of the field, were found at harvest to be appar- ently lower yielding than the average of the field. However, this was not entirely unexpected, and as the original purpose had been to make a second selection for yield within the first selection for earliness, selec- tions being made from the ten thousand plants at harvest time. At the time of the first selection in July, earliness of blooming stood almost alone in influencing the marking of plants, except that some attention was given to size and vigor of vine where this did not appear to be due to a difference in room, and hence available to plant food. Vigor- ous and thrifty plants, which appeared to be so because of inherent character, were selected, if blossoming early, and in no case were small, stunted plants selected. At harvest time, however, it seemed necessary to pay a great deal of attention to the yield. The plants were pulled, care being taken to separate the vines from the vines of surrounding plants, and each was inspected quickly after turning it over, so that the pods were easily seen. If the pods were found immature, or if the total number of pods was small, it was dropped, except that some plants with a small number of pods were carried along if the plant was very mature, and some very high yielding plants were carried on, though immature, it being proposed to run to lines of selection, one 238 UNIVERSITY OP CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. for earliness, the other for yield. In this way, about three thousand plants were selected out of the original ten thousand. After a short period of drying, the pods were picked from each plant and placed in a paper bag. The bags were numbered consecu- tively, corresponding to cards on which data regarding the number of dry pods, a number of pods to be shelled, and number of pods too immature to shell, length of the vine, and number of pods within twelve inches of the central stem, were recorded. Two numbers were then arbitrarily fixed for each field, one representing number of dry ,. /No : -_£ : i k I [ , > JO 11 12 13 14 15 1 1 1 ' 5 17 is lh / / s >7 90 92 91 48 £ SO 46 u h iO 59 44 U- O = oJ OC 42 -37 40 h <0 g/SO 06 Q- Va^i Goo tTY< OYE_, Kinc Of Ti 1 C LI3 ■\CL G M^OL/ i 1 1 1 1 \ 1 ! \ / \ / / \ / \ / \ / / f \ / \ / \ \/ / \ / \ 1 \ / 3 t o ^"" /' 4 <*> ^ ~\S PtL i?.cr./~ii ■ or P IDS/ > o ^■" J \ /ITMI/ i 12" o r -St LM3 z: so 02 o X 5 1 #»■'" y * / / / s • CM o>RT OMC L WI/~ L/1G G C TAi ( ORRI )T VI 1LAT 10/1 or y LLD / / / / Pi _T^C£ /NT , 3r pi DD.S W\Th in- ii ." oi- SI L V\ 79 24 / t 270 y >r 260 t I 250 £ 240 ? o "° 2 o 190 Chart No. I. pods, the other representing total number of pods, and those plants which did not exceed either of these numbers were discarded. About fifteen hundred of the more immature and light yielding plants were discarded in this way. The pods from all the remaining plants were shelled, keeping the lot from each plant separate from all the others. Finally, all but about six hundred from the original ten thousand were discarded before planting in the spring of 1909. The seed from these six hundred plants, some representing early maturity, some represent- ing high yield, and some representing a combination of these factors Bulletin 224] THE PRODUCTION OF THE LIMA BEAN. 239 in the same plant, were grown in rows as foundation stock in 1909, the seed from each plant being planted separately, so that the yield, earli- ness, and other desirable characters of their produce might be deter- mined. A large number of plants were taken to increase the chances of finding one or more with the power to transmit its characters to the next generation, or to increase the chance of isolating mutants. Before planting in 1909, other data were determined and correlations made which showed a direct relation in the selection between weight of shelled beans per plant, total number of pods, number of dry pods, weight of beans per pod, and number of beans per pod. Correlation tables also showed relation between the length of vine and total yield of shelled beans. This last relation is shown on Chart No. I. On the same chart is also shown the relation of these two factors to the per- centage of pods within 12 inches of the stem of the plant. In explana- tion of the curve, as it here appears, it should be said that on account of the difficulty of handling the original curve, including 190 plants selected on the basis of earliness and yield, the correlation is shown here by dividing the total number into groups of ten each and using as the basis of the curve here shown the average figures obtained from each group. Of course, the same general relation between the factors is thus shown as though the curve was based upon each individual plant, although a few wide variations of individuals do not appear. From these curves it appears that in the case of pole limas in general the yield is in proportion to the length of the vine or runners, although it may be said that occasional occurrence of individual plants giving high yield, with a reduced vining tendency, would indicate a possibility of reducing this tendency to some extent and still retain a satisfactory yield. Further, essentially the same fact is shown in the relation exist- ing between the curves representing per cent of pods, within 12 inches of the main plant, and the yield. In this case it is noticeable that the curves are essentially counter to each other, that is, as the per cent of pods within 12 inches of the body of the plant decreases, the yield increases. While the per cent of pods within 12 inches of the central stem shows a direct relation to the per cent of dry pods on the plant, the former shows a slight opposite relation to the weight of shelled beans per plant (yield). Under the conditions which held at the time of the inauguration of this work, it was impossible to secure the exact ripening date of the beans; in fact, lima beans, can hardly be said to have any date which can be set as a "date of ripening," as in the case of grain and many other crops; for as long as the vines remain green, they continue to ripen pods on the runners at increasing distances from the body of the plant, as has already been shown; consequently, the percentage of dry 240 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. N o < X n _L < N < -4 o < rJ o i — ft —1 u t o -4 V 0) — h \ Sl <0 — / r- — / ^0 — / . a «"7 o / \ oj — > / ?wv ^») c 3 1 c c 5 ] c r TV J < U 3 c 3 3 C J C c C r i c ) C << Bulletin 224] THE PRODUCTION OP THE LIMA BEAN. 241 «J o 1 2 » « n !T> gg * _ 4 «3 S R <^ <0 <0 <0 r> o ■ I ■SOOd A.*Q JO IWlA-J^ > & 2 e 2 a o <£ h Js t £■ 5- »• o * e- £ ar 8 5 c 242 UNIVERSITY OP CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT STATION. pods within a given length of the runner, at a selected date, becomes a factor which will represent the relative degree of maturity of the plant on that date, as well as, and perhaps better than, any other. Using this factor to represent the relative earliness of the plants and correlating, in the form of a curve, such data with that of weight of shelled beans per plant, it will be noticed that the two elements are, in general, antagonistic. It should be said, however, that this curve rep- resents only the field-selected plants. Just what the curves would show if all the plants in a row, or in a part of the field, were included, Chart No. IV. can only be surmised, but, judging from appearances in the field, the same general relation would hold between these two characters. This same fact is again shown (Chart III) in using the individual plants in a variety, instead of the group arrangement which appears in Chart II. A study of these curves shows that the yield increases much more rapidly than does the percentage of ripe pods. This seems to offer some hope of ultimately being able to make a selection within a selec- tion, by which we may be able to secure a plant which may be earlier Bulletin 224] THE PRODUCTION OP THE LIMA BEAN. 243 1 Mil II i I I I I I I "I 1 i 244 UNIVERSITY OP CALIFORNIA — EXPERIMENT STATION. than those now grown, and, at the same time, maintain yield as high as the present average, and it may be possible to raise such average slightly. Great care will have to be exercised in selection, not to select so closely for early maturity as to kill the matter of yield. Correlating the yield, average number of beans per pod, and the average weight per bean it appears that the former characters are directly related, but that the last named character is a distinctly reverse relationship. Prepotency in high yield, or the ability to project high productivity into the succeeding crop, can not be determined merely upon the fact that the plants selected as foundation stock gave a high yield. Many plants may themselves carry a high yield, but still not possess the projec- tive power to influence succeeding crops. To determine which of the orig- inal plants selected on account of their productiveness, as foundation stock, possess this projective power, demands a field trial of each of the plants of the foundation stock for two or three seasons. An accurate performance record of each plant can be obtained. This is done by the plant-to-row record, in which trials one row is planted from the beans of each of the selected plants, and accurate record of the yield, and other characteristics of each of the rows, being kept. Such trial have been made each year since 1908, both at Somis and at Oxnard. As a result of these trials, the following performance record for the three years is here shown with one of the varieties under selection. This prepotency in the direction of high yield is further shown in the case of a number of the strains under selection in the following chart, which represents one series of the plantings of 1910. In this chart, each of the perpendicular lines represents the average yield of beans per plant from individual strains after three years' selection in a plant-to-row test. The lines marked with the letter C represent check rows of common stock. Each of these strains was started from a high yielding parent plant. It will be noted that only a comparatively few of those plants in this series have shown the ability to continually project the character of high yield to their progeny. This is indicated by the few lines extending above the line connecting the check rows. The particular strains which show prepotency in this direction are the desirable strains which are to be increased and finally put into distribution to the growers. Bulletin 224] THE PRODUCTION OF THE LIMA BEAN. 245 DESIRABLE NEW STRAINS. As the result of this season's work in selection, some exceedingly promising strains have been developed, and seed from the more desir- able ones is now being increased. After eliminating from consid- eration these strains which, in the first season, failed to meet the requirements in the direction of projective efficiency in productiveness, we have remaining those used in the season of 1910, which gave the performance record shown in Table I. table: ii. Showing performance record of selected strain of lima beans in plant-to-row test, 1909-1910, inclusive. Season of 1908. Season of 1909. Season of 1910. Number of original parent plant for 1909 crop. Average yield per plant. < Average yield of beans £• planted. 1488 1397 1226 1502 1545 1485 1467 1339 1518 1292 1404 1228 1381 1282 1494 1484 1421 1521 1424 1300 Ck. 91 90 73 JUT 74 96 82 83 84 82 84 70 105 70.75 89.71 81.78 60.58 G6.78 83.48 (x) Grand average _. Per cent increase 54.00 56.00 51.25 54.62 62.25 58.30 51.00 53.77 69.00 80.66 51.00 46.98 36.75 58.30 61.13 72.69 16.95% 64.00 57.00 52.00 71.20 70.50 70.00 69.00 68.00 67.80 77.00 71.80 71.00 72.50 47.00 49.50 51.00 53.77 56.00 47.00 58.00 61.13 62.15 9?B 153 160 192 145 114 221 107 187 207 144 161 225. 150 52 98 162 78 113 89 85 138 79.80 62.82 46.13 93.95 55 . 46 48.11 82.91 83.49 41.32 61.41 83.20 55.48 58.86 56.00 83.77 64.81 47.83 85.75 51.51 63.12 49.81 43.10 63.12 49.81 43.10 63.12 49.81 43.10 63.41 49.20 43.10 63.41 48.10 57.44 50.80 51.57 57.44 50.80 51.57 57.44 53.01 In this table the lack of continued high yielding prepotency will be noticed in the case of strains Nos. 1518, 1292, and 1491. While these were of fair indication in 1909, they fell short of the check in 1910, and consequently were discarded in 1911. The general improvement, however, has been exceedingly encouraging. The average increase of these selected strains in 1909 was 16.95 per cent over the common stock used as checks, and in 1910 it was 23.92 per cent. On this basis, if we use the figures of the total production for Ventura County alone, 4— bul 224 246 UNIVERSITY OP CALIFORNIA EXPERIMENT STATION. viz., 800,000 sacks, 80 pounds per sack, the increase from the use of such strains of selected stocks would have been, in 1910, 191,360 sacks, which, at an average price of 4 cents per pound, would mean a gain of $612,342.00, an amount well worth consideration. Selecting the six most promising strains of this type, the results show as follows: TABLE III. Showing the results of the performance record of the six most promising strains of selected lima beans in 1909 and 1910. Season of 1908. Season of 1909. Season of 1910. Weight of beans on parent plant. Average yield per plant. Weight of beans on selected plant for 1910 parent. Average yield of beans planted. Number of original parent plant for 1009 crop. ux 3 o 60 3 Check; com- mon stock. Grams ('hock: com- mon stock. Selection 1502 107.25 82.00 83.00 84.25 51.25 69.00 86.88 71.20 82.35 69.00 77.82 68.00 60.58 71.80 54.62 49.50 80.66 56.00 73.82 (U.9,R 145 107 187 161 98 113 93.95 82.91 83.49 83 20 63 12 1467 63 12 1339 49 81 1404 •1Q 90 1494 . 83 77 R7 A.A. 1521 85.75 85.51 Average 56 69 Prof. Willet M. Hays, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, writes as follows, with reference to the possibility of plant improvement in the United States : "That the five to six billion dollars' worth of plant and animal products annually grown in the United States can be increased ten per cent by selection and breeding is not seriously doubted by those best able to judge. The addition of ten billion dollars' worth of products every twenty years by readjusting the hereditary tendencies of our crops and animals at a mere nominal cost is as important as the development of electrical methods and appliances, or as the per- fection of system of steel roads and public highways, or as our entire foreign commerce. If, as is believed, our plant and animal forces can have their heredity so improved that $50,000,000 is increased 10 per cent at a cost for breeding of only $500,000.00, one dollar creating $1,000.00, it is certainly a good business proposition to develop breed- ing projects rapidly and freely. The evidence shows that this propo- sition is every year developing into a form that can not be ignored. Our country is destined to see breeding projects developed, as it has seen mechanical projects grow. Our. plant and animal forces are fully as potent economic factors as our mechanical forces, and are worthy of as serious efforts to develop them." STATION PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE FOR DISTRIBUTION. REPORTS. 1896. Report of the Viticultural Work during the seasons 1887-93, with data regard- ing the Vintages of 1894-95. 1897. Resistant Vines, their Selection, Adaptation, and Grafting. Appendix to Viti- cultural Report for 1896. 1902. Report of the Agricultural Experiment Station for 1898-1901. 1903. Report of the Agricultural Experiment Station for 1901-03. 1904. Twenty-second Report of the Agricultural Experiment Station for 1903-04. BULLETINS. Reprint. No. 128. 133. 147. 149. 153. 159. 162. 165. 167. 168. 169. 170. 171. 174. 176. 178. 179. 180. 181. 182. 183. 184. 185. 186 187 188 189 190 191 Endurance of Drought in Soils of the Arid Region. Nature, Value, and Utilization of Alkali Lands, and Tolerance of Alkali. (Revised and Reprint, 1905.) Tolerance of Alkali by Various Cultures. Culture Work of the Sub-stations. California Sugar Industry. Spraying with Distillates. Contribution to the Study of Fermentation. Commercial Fertilizers. (Dec. 1, 1904.) Asparagus and Asparagus Rust in California. Manufacture of Dry Wines in Hot 'Countries. Observations on Some Vine Dis- eases in Sonoma County. Tolerance of the Sugar Beet for Alkali. Studies in Grasshopper Control. Commercial Fertilizers. (June 30, 1905.) A New Wine-cooling Machine. Sugar Beets in the San Joaquin Valley. A New Method of Making Dry Red Wine. Mosquito Control. Commercial Fertilizers. (June, 1906.) Resistant Vineyards. The Selection of Seed- Wheat. Analysis of Paris Green and Lead Arsenic. Proposed In- secticide Law. The California Tussock-moth. Report of the Plant Pathologist to July 1, 1906. Report of Progress in Cereal In- vestigations. The Oidium of the Vine. Commercial Fertilizers. (Janu- ary, 1907.) Lining of Ditches and Reservoirs to Prevent Seepage and Losses. Commercial Fertilizers. (June, 1907.) The Brown Rot of the Lemon. California Peach Blight. 192. Insects Injurious to the Vine in California. 193. The Best Wine Grapes for Cali- fornia ; Pruning Young Vines ; Pruning the Sultanina. 194. Commercial Fertilizers. (Dec, 1907.) 195. The California Grape Root- worm. 197. Grape Culture in California ; Im- proved Methods of Wine-mak- ing ; Yeast from California Grapes. 198. The Grape Leaf- Hopper. 199. Bovine Tuberculosis. 200. Gum Diseases of Citrus Trees in California. 201. Commercial Fertilizers. (June, 1908.) 202. Commercial Fertilizers. (Decem- ber, 1908.) 203. Report of the Plant Pathologist to July 1, 1909. 204. The Dairy Cow's Record and the Stable. 205. Commercial Fertilizers. (Decem- ber, 1909.) 206. Commercial Fertilizers. (June, 1910.) 207. The Control of the Argentine Ant. 208. The Late Blight of Celery. 209. The Cream Supply. 210. Imperial Valley Settlers' Crop Manual. 211. How to Increase the Yield of Wheat in California. 212. California White Wheats. 213. The Principles of Wine-making. 214. Citrus Fruit Insects. 215. The House Fly in its Relation to Public Health. 216. A Progress Report upon Soil and Climatic Factors Influencing the Composition of Wheat. 217. Honey Plants of California. 218. California Plant Diseases. 219. Report of Live Stock Conditions in Imperial County, California 220. Fumigation Studies No. 5 ; Dos- age Tables. 221. Commercial Fertilizers. 222. The Red or Orange Scale. 223. The Black Scale. CIRCULARS. Xo. 1. Texas Fever. 5. Contagious Abortion in Cows. 7. Remedies for Insects. 9. Asparagus Rust. 11. Fumigation Practice. 12. Silk Culture. 15. Recent Problems in Agriculture. What a University Farm is For. 19. Disinfection of Stables. 29. Preliminary Announcement Con- cerning Instruction in Practical Agriculture upon the University Farm, Davis, Cal. 30. White Fly in California. 32. White Fly Eradication. 33. Packing Prunes in Cans. Cane Sugar vs. Beet Sugar. Analyses of Fertilizers for Con- sumers. Instruction in Practical Agricul- ture at the University Farm. 46. Suggestions for Garden Work in California Schools. Butter Scoring Contest, 1909. Fumigation Scheduling. 36. 39. -is. 50. No. 52. Information for Students Concern- ing the College of Agriculture. 54. Some Creamery Problems and Tests. 55. Farmers' Institutes and Univer- sity Extension in Agriculture. 58. Experiments with Plants and Soils in Laboratory, Garden, and Field. 60. Butter Scoring Contest, 1910. 61. University Farm School. 62. The School Garden in the Course of Study. 63. How to Make an Observation Hive. 64. Announcement of Farmers' Short Courses for 1911. 65. The California Insecticide Law. 66. Insecticides and Insect Control. 67. Development of Secondary School Agriculture in California. 68. The Prevention of Hog Cholera. 69. The Extermination of Morning- Glory. 70. Observations on Status of Corn- growing in California.