192 ELEMENTAEY AGKICUl^TURE 



beans are to be used green, they must be picked 

 frequently, for if the pods are allowed to ripen, the 

 plants will stop producing. The bean weevil is a 

 serious enemy and should be treated like the pea 

 weevil. Lima and butter beans are best grown in 

 Southern climates. Poles or stakes for these should 

 be set at least four feet apart each way for their 

 vines to climb on. The worst disease of string beans 

 is the brownish or reddish pitted spots upon the 

 pods; they spoil the appearance of the crop and cut 

 down the yield. 



Beets. The root crops all need a loose, deep soil. 

 Subsoiling or double plowing is useful in hard earth. 

 Beets are grown in rows three and a half feet apart. 

 They may be sown very early, for the young plants 

 will endure a light frost. They should be thinned 

 when the plants are just big enough for greens. For 

 winter beets, seed may be sown in July or August 

 in the central states. After the first heavy frost, 

 the gardener should take up the roots, cut off the 

 tops, and store the beets in a root cellar or pit. 

 Leaf -blight is common with the beet in some places. 

 This is prevented by spraying with the Bordeaux 

 mixture. 



Turnips. Turnips should be planted on a rainy 

 day and the seed covered lightly. About three- 

 quarters of an ounce of seed to a row one hundred 

 feet long. Young plants are thinned from five to 

 seven inches in the row. If the plant growls too 

 slowly, it is stringy and bitter. The fall and winter 



