THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. 233 



one has a warm, sheltered slope, he may begin 

 planting the middle of April. As a rule, however, 

 bush-beans may be planted from the first of May 

 till the middle of July, in order to keep up a suc- 

 cession. Cover the first seed planted one inch 

 deep; later plantings two inches deep. I think 

 that earliest Red Valentine, Black Wax or Butter, 

 Golden Wax, and the late Refugee are all the varie- 

 ties needed for the garden. 



The delicious pale Lima bean requires and 

 deserves more attention. I have always succeeded 

 with it, and this has been my method: I take a 

 warm, rich, but not dry piece of ground, work it 

 deeply early in spring, again the first of May, so 

 that the sun's rays may penetrate and sweeten the 

 ground. About the tenth of May I set the poles 

 firmly in the ground. Rough cedar-poles, with the 

 stubs of the branches extending a little, are the 

 best. If smooth poles are used, I take a hatchet, 

 and beginning at the butt, I make shallow, slant- 

 ing cuts downward, so as to raise the bark a little. 

 These slight raisings of the bark or wood serve as 

 supports to the clambering vines. After the poles 

 are in the ground I make a broad, flat hill of loose 

 soil and a little of the black powdery fertilizer. I 

 then allow the sun to warm and dry the hill a few 

 days, and if the weather is fine and warm, I plant 

 the seed about the fifteenth, merely pressing the eye 



