362 THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



on a soil which compels plants to forage far and wide 

 for a bare living. It is also evident that only the 

 most soluble fertilizers should be used. The seed should 

 be put in drills three and one -half feet apart if room 

 can be afforded to work the ground with the horse, or 

 the drills may be eight or nine inches apart iii^a bed 

 if space is very limited. In the latter case, an abun- 

 dance of water and manure is indispensable. Care should 

 be taken, especially when rows are near together, not 

 to sow too thick in the drills. One strong plant 

 every four inches is better than three weak ones in 

 the same row. If the ground is in good condition, 

 without lumps, cultivation can be done with a horse 

 cultivator, the wheel -hoe and the hand hoe. There is 

 a grave mistake somewhere when beans or peas have 

 to be weeded by hand. 



Beans should not be planted too deep, or the grow- 

 ing top of the germinating plantlets will be torn off 

 as they are pushed through the ground. Cover one and 

 one -half to two inches. All varieties which are to be used 

 green should be scrupulously picked as soon as fit to 

 eat. If allowed to ripen they stop growth and produc- 

 tion on the bearing plants. 



Probably the worst disease of string beans is the bean 

 anthracnose, which causes brownish or reddish pitted spots 

 upon the pods, spoiling their appearance and diminish- 

 ing the yield. This may be successfully treated by 

 soaking the seed for an hour before planting in a so- 

 lution of three ounces of copper carbonate and one quart 

 of ammonia to four and one -half gallons of water. 



The bean weevil is often a serious enemy in dry beans. 

 Its ravages may be somewhat controlled by killing the 

 insects in seed beans, either by subjecting them to a 

 temperature of 145 F. for an hour as soon as gathered, 

 or by treating with carbon bi-sulfid in a closed vessel. 



Varieties of String Beans. The German Black Wax is 



