26 THE VEGETABLE CULTIVATOR. 



bean is now generally planted for the very early 

 crops. 



For the first principal crop of beans, any of the 

 sorts may be sown in drills ; the large beans, two 

 feet and a half apart between the rows, and three 

 inches in the rows, and the same depth : the smaller 

 varieties are not planted quite so far apart, and not 

 so deep; two inches being sufficient. If the weather 

 is mild, the latter end of January or the beginning 

 of February will be a proper time for planting them, 

 in some good, rich, mellow ground. 



For the next principal and full-succession crops, 

 plant again in March and April, and so continue 

 till June and July, when the small early kinds again 

 become the most proper, as their hardiness fits 

 them for standing late as well as early. For late 

 productions, the green nonpareil, toker, and early 

 long-pods are the best : the white-blossomed bean 

 is also a very desirable sort for secondary crops, 

 both in the general and late planting season. For 

 the main summer crops, adopt principally the broad 

 Windsor, long-pod, and green nonpareil varieties. 



In planting late crops in June and July, if the 

 weather is dry, the beans may be soaked in soft 

 water for several hours previous to being planted ; or 

 the drills can be watered, and the beans put in and 

 covered up directly, while the earth remains moist. 



The following expedient is sometimes resorted to 

 in order to obtain a late crop : Select a few rows 

 of beans planted at the usual season in March, and 

 when the flowers appear, cut them down to within 

 a few inches of the ground. New stems will spring 

 from the root, and produce a very late crop of beans. 



