364 



GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



plants and become old greatly hinders production. If some be needed to produce seed, 

 select and leave one of the longest and straightest here and there, but not more than will 

 give the required quantity of seed. Of all others gather as fast as they attain the proper 

 table size, having them rather young than old. 



Varieties. The best of the scarlet-flowered Runners are Ne Plus Ultra, Hill's Pride, 

 and Best of All, quite long podded and very handsome ; and of the whites, Giant Titan 

 and Girtford Giant. There are other climbers having smooth pods, such as Tender and 

 True or Climbing Canadian Wonder, the Caseknife, and the Mont d'Or or Golden Butter 

 Beans, the pods of which are gathered when yellow and cooked whole, forming a novel 

 and delicious dish. All these Runners need practically the same treatment. 



Beans, Kidney Dwarf. These are commonly known also as French Beans, but the 

 term is not a correct one. The seeds of these are generally smaller than those of the 

 large Scarlet Runner, and are very varied in colour, there being many varieties. They 

 are essentially summer croppers, and have about the same season as the Runners have, 

 but do not need such rich soil, as they are less productive or enduring. They do well 

 in any good garden soil, in rows from 24 inches to 30 inches apart, according to 

 strength or variety. Drills should be 3 inches deep and single, and the seeds set into 

 them from 3 inches to 6 inches apart, as plenty of room is needful. The times of 

 sowing may range from the middle of April on a warm border and every fortnight on to 

 more open ground up to the end of July, and even in August on to a warm border again 

 where protected from cold winds, or large wood frames can be placed over the plants to 

 enable them to crop well into the autumn. In all cases the pods should be gathered 

 so soon as fit for cooking, or otherwise the plants soon cease to crop. In very hot 

 weather place a dressing of manure between the rows and give liberal supplies of water. 



Varieties. For outdoor culture one of the very best earlies is Ne Plus Ultra. That can 

 be succeeded by Negro, and followed by Mohawk, Magnum Bonum, and Canadian 

 Wonder. The latter two are rather strong growers. Out of the many varieties these are 

 some of the best and most widely grown, but all are good. 



Beets. These are usually called Beetroots, but the term "roots" is needless. 

 These useful products, all of a highly nutritious nature, and constituting most valuable 

 food, are in two diverse forms. The earliest are round or turnip-rooted, the later ones are 

 all long or taper-rooted. For early purposes the very best is the Blood-Red, a selection 

 of great value from the original Egyptian round-rooted, and much superior. Its great 

 usefulness lies in the quickness with which the bulbs are formed, and therefore early use in 

 the summer and autumn before the long or tapering-rooted varieties are ready for pulling. 

 Beets like a deep holding soil of good quality that has been rendered fine and loose by 

 well turning it up with a fork in the spring. If a previous crop has been well manured, 

 and the ground before the winter thrown up roughly, and later forked down level for 

 sowing, it is better so to leave it than to add fresh manure, as such application in a fresh 

 state tends to the production of side roots, which are, on all these products, very objection- 

 able. But when it is essential to add manure to the ground it should be dug in, or better 

 still, trenched in early in the preceding winter, burying it well down. All these tapering 

 roots obtain their sap food chiefly through the aid of the fine point root which strikes 

 vertically into the soil ; hence where manure is low down it is more readily utilised. 



Sowing the earliest crop may take place in the south quite early in April and in the 

 north at the end of the month. A fairly sheltered position is best. The drills, which may 

 be an inch in depth, should be 12 inches apart, the seed being sown thinly in them, 

 then covered with fine soil, roughly raked over, and left neat on the surface. As the plants 

 give somewhat sweet leafage birds are apt to prey upon it, hence some protection, either in 

 the form of nets or dusting with lime or soot, may be needful for a few weeks after growth 

 begins, to protect the plants from harm. To have these round-rooted early Beets in good 

 condition the plants in the rows should be thinned to 6 inches apart, and through- 

 out the summer the surface soil be freely stirred with a hoe both to kill weeds and to 

 retain moisture. When the roots are but half grown they may be pulled for use ; and 

 when fully grown, which they will be by the beginning of August, they are of a dark 

 crimson colour, flesh fine and firm, of good flavour, and delicious when cooked and eaten 

 while cold, or sliced and eaten as salading. The blood-red, globe-shaped variety, with its 

 tops of dark hue and moderate growth, should be asked for. 



Beets, Tapering. As these forms make good growth well into the autumn, early sow- 

 ing is undesirable. It is therefore soon enough to make sowings during the month of 

 May. The ground should be prepared as before mentioned, the drills being drawn 14 

 inches apart, and grow them as advised for the round-rooted forms. In using a hoe 

 between the rows great care should be taken not to injure the roots. Large roots are 

 undesirable, for these invariably have inferior and less well-coloured flesh than those of 

 medium size. 



Varieties. Some that show handsome dark-hued leafage and also have roots of rich 

 deep colour and good refined flesh are Dell's Crimson, Pragnell's Exhibition, Nutting's 



