MY GARDEN. 



ripened. The plants are allowed to grow in the open air till the equi- 

 noctial gales occur, when the lights are used at night and during wet 

 days. Later in the season the frames are matted at night, and in 

 this way abundant produce is obtained till about the second week of 

 November, when generally a frost occurs sufficiently severe to pene- 

 trate the frame, notwithstanding its covering, and to kill the plant. The 

 length of time during which the plants last greatly depends upon 

 the attention of the gardener. 



The Kidney-bean grows in any good garden soil. The seeds 

 should be planted in rows two feet apart, and the seeds about four 

 inches from each other. Every bean should be gathered as it is fit ; 

 and as we use the pods in a green, immature state, the more we gather 

 the more we get, for a ripened pod exhausts and consequently kills 

 the plant. We sometimes have a few early forced beans from pits 

 placed in the cucumber-house, and where there is a hothouse it is 

 useful to have them in early spring. 



Allied to the French bean, the Scarlet Runner (PJiaseolus inultiflorus, 

 fig. 150) is a great favourite with the poor, who train it over their cottages. 

 The scarlet runner is a perennial plant, though in this country I have 

 never seen it live the winter, nor have I ever preserved the roots 

 through the winter. There are several varieties, of which it is need- 

 less to take heed, as the common one suffices for all usual purposes. 

 It is planted, like French beans, in April, and yields its produce in 

 July, August, and September. The equinoctial gales have a hurtful 

 effect upon it ; but when it is protected from the violence of these 

 gales, it will bear longer. Sometimes it is grown with us in rows 

 upon sticks ; sometimes it is grown over three poles arranged as 

 a tripod, which allows more air and light. The latter is the prefer- 

 able method, though I am bound to say that we generally employ 

 the former. Market-gardeners usually do not employ sticks, but cut 

 the runner back to about three feet of the ground. It is a good plan 

 to make three sowings, the first in the last week in April, the second 

 in the third week of May, and the third in the middle of June. When 

 we desire large and continued produce, it is of great consequence to 



