BEANS 31 



Scarlet Runner and White Dutch Runner are familiar ex- 

 amples. The Scarlet Runner is usually grown as an orna- 

 mental vine, and it is perennial in warm countries, but the 

 Beans are edible as shelled Beans. The White Dutch 

 Runner is oftener cultivated for food. (4) The Yard-Long, 

 or Asparagus Bean, Doliclios sesquipedalis, which produces 

 long and weak vines and very long, slender pods. The 

 green pods are eaten, and also the shelled Beans. The 

 French Yard-Long is the only variety of this type which is 

 commonly known in this country. This type of Bean is 

 popular in the Orient. (5) The Broad Beans, of which the 

 Windsor is the common type. These are much grown in 

 the Old World for stock feed, and they are sometimes used 

 for human food. They grow to one strict, central, stiff 

 stalk, to a height of 2-4 or 5 ft., and they are very unlike 

 other kinds of Beans in appearance. In this country, they 

 are very little grown on account of our hot and dry sum- 

 mers. In Canada they are somewhat grown, and are some- 

 times used in the making of ensilage. 



The culture of the Bean, while of the easiest, often 

 proves a failure as far as the first crop is concerned, be- 

 cause of planting the seed before the ground has become 

 warm and dry. No vegetable seed will decay quicker than 

 Beans, and the delay caused by waiting for the soil to be- 

 come 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 in most any soil, but the best 

 results may be obtained 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 ft. between the drill-rows, 

 but for the dwarf Limas 2/ ft. is better. Pole Limas are 



