KIDNEY BEAN, OR FRENCH BEAN 



43 



to walk in, the women can pick two 

 lines of Beans, one on either side of 

 the empty alley, and never disturb 

 the other crops in the alternate alleys. 

 Should the French Beans have come 

 up well, and be nearly ready for 

 picking before the first occupants 

 of the soil are entirely removed, the 

 alleys are not cropped again until 

 they become exhausted. The drills 

 for sowing are drawn in the morning 

 of a fine day and left until the after- 

 noon, when seeds are sown and some 

 earth drawn over them. 



The first main sowing is made 

 in the open fields about the second 

 or third week in April, under the 

 same circumstances as that already 

 mentioned, or the field may have 

 been previously planted out with 

 Cos Lettuces in lines 12, 15, or 

 1 8 in. apart; between every two 

 lines of these would be sown one of 

 Beans. Along both sides of Aspara- 

 gus ridges Beans also often find a 

 place. Some growers sow late crops 

 in rows 4 ft. apart, and plant two 

 rows of Coleworts in every interven- 

 ing alley. Before the seeds appear 

 the soil immediately over the seeds 

 is gone over and slightly loosened 

 with an iron-toothed rake, so as to 

 permit of an easy egress of the seed- 

 lings. When sown in bare fields, 

 even though Lettuces be planted 

 .amongst them, a little ridge of soil 

 is frequently drawn to the north or 

 windward side of them as an addi- 

 tional protection from cold winds. 

 Whilst the plants are growing they 

 are carefully attended to as regards 

 keeping them clean and hoeing 

 the soil, and when they reach 4 in. 

 in height they are earthed up a 

 little. The catch crops, too, are 

 cleared away as soon as they are 

 ready, in order to give the French 

 Beans every opportunity of a healthy 

 development. Successive sowings 

 -are made every fortnight or three 



weeks, until the end of June, by 

 some, but most of the large growers 

 sow about April 8th and 2oth, the 

 first and last week in May, and 

 the first week in July. The last 

 sowing consists of the Negro, and 

 just yields a good crop of young 

 and fine pods before being destroyed 

 by frost ; whereas, were they sown 

 a fortnight later, they would be 

 apt to be nipped when coming 

 into bloom. 



Gathering is well attended to, 

 for if full-grown pods be allowed to 

 remain too long on the plants they 

 soon cease to bear. The Beans are 

 gathered by women into baskets, 

 which, when full, they carry on 

 their heads to the end of the rows, 

 there to leave them to be carted 

 home, where they are washed to 

 remove the grit. They are then 

 packed into round half-bushel vege- 

 table baskets, which are covered 

 with Rhubarb leaves fastened down 

 with withies, and piled one above 

 another on the waggons that convey 

 them to market three times a week. 

 Most market-gardeners save their 

 own seed, and a piece of the main 

 sowing is generally selected for this 

 purpose. The plants in the rows to 

 be saved for seed are first subjected 

 to two or three pickings for market ; 

 then they are left untouched until 

 the beans are fully ripe, when the 

 plants are pulled up by the roots, 

 tied into little bunches, and slung 

 in pairs across a fence or rail to dry. 

 Sometimes, too, the haulm is spread 

 over sashes to dry, and, in the event 

 of wet weather, is strewed under 

 some spare sashes, where it gets 

 well dried without getting wet. 

 They are then housed, and during 

 wintry weather are threshed, cleaned, 

 and stored in rough brown paper or 

 canvas bags, or placed in drawers, 

 or in the corner of a loft, until 

 sowing time arrives. 



