48 Southern Gardener\s Practical Mannal 



which there are many popular strains, is the most popu- 

 lar variety for the garden and the truck farm. Some of 

 the wax varieties are very popular, such as Blach Wax, 

 Kidney Wax, Refugee, Butter Wax, Golden Wax, Valen- 

 tine Wax and Lima Wax, but these are more subject to 

 fungous diseases than the green -pod varieties. This 

 vegetable has been bred up to such perfection that all 

 varieties are satisfactory. Of the pole varieties, the old 

 Creasehack, sometimes termed ^^ Fat-horse," though it has 

 been in cultivation more than a century, is still a 

 popular variety. Lazy Wife is another deservedly popu- 

 lar sort, being exceedingly prolific of large, long pods 

 and retaining its snap -short quality until the beans are 

 grown. Southern Prolific is another very popular variety 

 which is grown extensively in corn-fields, the stalks of 

 corn serving in the place of poles. 



The bunch or dwarf varieties may be planted as early 

 in spring as the frost is out of the ground. For the first 

 planting, the danger of the seed rotting in the ground 

 will be avoided by raising the seed-bed a few inches 

 above the general level. The bed will afford drainage, 

 the effect of which, besides drying the so".l, will be to 

 admit the air, which is warmer in spring than the soil. 

 Sow thickly in drills, covering two inches deep, and cul- 

 tivate shallow, drawing a little soil to the plants in the 

 early cultivation. Some books advise thinning to six or 

 eight inches in the drill, but my experience and observa- 

 tion teach that thick planting in the drill gives better 

 results. The drills need not be more than two feet 

 apart. A pint of beans will plant one hundred feet of 

 row, and this will be enough for one planting for an 



