BEAN 465 



ground has become warm and dry. No vegetable seed will decay- 

 quicker than beans, and the delay caused by waiting for the soil to 

 become warm and free from excessive moisture will be more than 

 made up by the rapidity of growth when finally they are planted. 

 Beans will grow on most any land, but the best results may be se- 

 cured by having the soil well enriched and in good physical 

 condition. 



From the 5th to the 10th of May in the latitude of central New York, 

 it will be safe to plant beans for an early crop. The beans may be 

 dropped 2 inches deep in shallow drills, the seeds to lie 3 inches apart. 

 Cover to the surface of the soil, and if the ground be dry, firm it with 

 the foot or the back of the hoe. For the bush varieties, allow 2 feet 

 between the drill-rows, but for the dwarf Limas 2^ feet is better. 

 Pole Limas are usually planted in hills 2 to 3 feet apart in the rows. 

 Dwarf Limas may be sown thinly in drills. 



A large number of the varieties of both the green-podded and the 

 wax-podded beans are used almost exclusively as snap beans, to be 

 eaten with the pod while tender. The various strains of the Black 

 Wax are the most popular string beans. The pole or running beans 

 are used either green or dried, and the Limas, both tall and dwarf, are 

 well known for their superior flavor either as shelled or dry beans. 

 The old-fashioned Cranberry or Horticultural Lima type (a pole form 

 of Phaseolus vulgaris) is probably the best shell bean, but the trouble 

 of poling makes it unpopular. Dwarf Limas are much more desirable 

 for small gardens than the pole varieties, as they may be planted much 

 closer, the bother of procuring poles or twine is avoided, and the 

 garden will have a more sightly appearance. Both the dwarf Limas 

 and pole Limas require a longer season in which to mature than the 

 bush beans, and only one planting is usually made. 



The ordinary bush beans may be planted at intervals of two weeks 

 from the first planting until the 10th of August. Each planting may 

 be made on ground previously occupied by some early-maturing crop. 

 Thus, the first to third plantings may be on ground from which has 

 been harvested a crop of spinach, early radish, or lettuce ; after that, 

 on ground where early peas have been grown; and the later sowings 

 where beets or early potatoes have grown. String beans for canning 

 are usually taken from the last crop. 

 2h 



