246 MANAGEMENT OF THE VARIOUS CROPS. 



house, or they may occupy benches either as a leading 

 crop or as a catch crop with cucumbers, melons, or to- 

 matoes (page 225). 



The soil for beans should be rich and "quick." We 

 use 6 to 8 inches of soil placed upon benches, making it 

 of garden loam and nearly or quite one-quarter of very 

 thoroughly rotted manure (page 225). 



The temperature for beans should be approximately 

 that for cucumbers, 60 to 65 at night, and 10 to 15 de- 

 grees higher during the day. The plants should have 

 strong bottom heat (pages 226, 227). 



A good forcing bean is one which is early and pro- 

 ductive, compact in habit, and which bears long, straight 

 and symmetrical pods. We prefer the Sion House bean, 

 a green-podded variety (page 227). 



Six or eight weeks are required from the sowing of 

 the seeds to the first picking (page 225). 



Beans are self-fertile, and hand pollination is, therefore, 

 unnecessary (page 227). 



House beans are usually marketed in neat bunches 

 (Fig. 81), containing 50 pods. In special and personal 

 markets, the pods should bring from ^ cent to i cent 

 each (page 227). 



Not more than three good pickings can be expected 

 from any crop, and very often it is not profitable to re- 

 tain the plants after a single picking (page 227). 



The leading enemies of beans are red spider and 

 mites. Keep the foliage moist if attack is feared (page 

 228). 



BEET, CARROT. 



Beets require such a long season, and yield so little 

 profit, that they are rarely grown as a main crop in forc- 

 ing-houses. They are commonly grown between late cu- 

 cumbers or tomatoes. Seeds are generally sown in flats, 

 and the young plants are 'pricked out into rows between 

 the other crops. If grown by themselves, beets require a 



