158 The Profitable Culture of Vegetables. 



protection to the tender young plants and yet be cleared off the 

 ground before the beans are seriously inconvenienced. Sow 

 in drills 2in. deep, 4in. wide, and 2ft. Gin. to 3ft. apart. In each 

 drill sow a double row of beans, thus . ' . ' . ' When growing, 

 the plants should stand Gin. apart in each direction, but the 

 seed should be sown double this thickness, and when they are 

 well up the plants should be thinned out to the indicated dis- 

 tance apart ; there is more lost than gained in allowing them to 

 stand together too thickly. The thinnings may be used to make 

 good any blanks and to plant elsewhere for a successional crop 

 or for seed saving. 



As soon as the ground is cleared of the previous crop the 

 space between every alternate row of beans is forked over and 

 filled with another crop such as lettuce or spinach. Alternate 

 spaces are left blank so as to afford room for picking from the 

 plants on each side. 



Gathering the pods must be attended to systematically; if 

 they are left on the plants too long they get tough and useless 

 and the plants soon stop bearing. To obtain a long-continued 

 supply of green and tender pods they must be picked closely as 

 they come ready, even though they may not be immediately 

 wanted. 



When seed is to be saved a piece is either sown specially for 

 this purpose or part of the main-crop is left ungathered as soon 

 as prices fall low. When the beans are ripe the plants are 

 pulled up and tied near the roots in little bundles. They are 

 then put to dry, either spread out on a hard bottom or hung on 

 a fence or over a rail. If the weather is wet they may be 

 spread out thinly in a shed or in frames to dry. Afterwards 

 they are stored in a dry airy place until winter when they are 

 threshed and cleaned ready for sowing. 



Manures : French Beans pay for liberal treatment. The 

 soil in which they are planted should be given plenty of well- 

 rotted stable manure, as not only does this provide plant foods 

 but it serves to keep the soil open and rich in humus, a condi- 

 tion of things in which these plants revel. Fresh manure is not 

 suitable, and perhaps the best crops may be obtained from 

 ground which has been deeply worked and heavily manured 

 for a previous crop, followed by a dressing of lime before the 



