THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK 



plowed, manured liberally, and a first sowing made; successive sowings 

 can be made until the end of May, after which time it does not pay to 

 sow them ; but for a fall crop, a sowing can be made about July 25. Dwarf 

 peas are to be recommended for small gardens; probably the best of these 

 is Sutton's Excelsior; Nott's Excelsior is very good also; both of these 

 are heavy croppers. Taller varieties, such as Thomas Laxton and Gradus, 

 are excellent, but should have good supports. Birch brush is the best 

 support for peas; wire netting may be used when birch is not procurable. 

 Good succession peas to follow those already named are Alderman, Dwarf 

 Champion, Sutton's Dwarf, Defiance, Juno, Improved Stratagem, Ad- 

 vancer, Quite Content, and the old Champion of England ; the latter should 

 not be grown where it cannot be given good supports, being a tall grower, 

 but it is a very productive variety. 



Beans are of much easier culture than peas and will succeed in soils 

 where peas would be an utter failure ; they can also be picked over quite 

 a long season ; we have picked string beans as early as June 28 and last 

 year as late as October 12, which gives a fairly long season. First sow- 

 ings of string beans can be made from April 15 to 20, and successive sow- 

 ings made until August 1st for late pickings. Triumph of the Frames 

 and Plentiful are the earliest varieties we have grown. Stringless Green 

 Pod and Valentine are excellent later sorts. Improved Goddard and 

 Dwarf Horticultural are splendid string and shell varieties. Wax beans 

 are handsome and sell well; their appearance helps them to sell, but their 

 flavor is far inferior to that of the green podded sorts. Rustless Golden 

 Wax and Stringless White Wax are reliable varieties. Lima beans should 

 not be sown untilwe get settled warm weather. The dwarf varieties are 

 of comparatively recent introduction, and for the small grower are far to 

 be preferred to the pole sorts. The earliest of these is the small Hender- 

 son Bush Lima; many prefer the flavor of this to all others; it is hardier 

 than the other varieties, such as Burpee's and Dreer's, and a marvelous 

 producer. Dreer's Lima is a sure cropper in hot seasons, but inferior in 

 flavor to Burpee's. Fordhook Lima is superior to the Burpee's in both 

 size and flavor and will eventually supersede it. 



Where poles are procurable, the following are fine beans to grow : Ken- 

 tucky Wonder and Lazy Wife's for snap; and Golden Cluster is a good 

 wax variety. The old Scarlet Runner makes long, rough beans which, 

 however, are of excellent flavor, and the plants are very ornamental while 

 in flower. The Sieva or small Lima and King of the Garden Lima are 

 the best of their kind, and produce an enormous quantity of pods per pole. 

 The best wood for poles is cedar or hickory; these last for several years, 

 while oak, birch, and maple do not generally carry for more than one 

 season. 



Potatoes are the most important of all garden vegetable crops. They 

 will succeed in a great variety of soils, if proper preparation of manuring 

 has been given, but the best soil is a deep, rich, friable loam, well drained, 

 where there is no possibility of water standing in a wet season. Far more 



56 



