ENGLISH BROAD BEANS. 59 



light, it should be manured freely with cow manure. Out- 

 door sowing should be done as soon in the spring as the 

 ground is in working order. 



They should be sown in drills about two inches deep, 

 but varying as to the distance of the rows and the plants 

 on the row, according to the variety. When they are 

 three or four inches high they should be carefully hoed, 

 and as they progress should be earthed up once or twice 

 during their growth. When the young pods form on the 

 lower part of the stem, the top shoots should be pinched 

 off; otherwise the plant will go on growing and flowering, 

 to the injury and retardation of the crop. They may be 

 greatly forwarded by starting them in a moderate hot-bed 

 in February, and transplanting them out-of-doors about 

 the 20th of March, or from that time until the first of April, 

 according to the weather. The transplanting should be 

 carefully done with a trowel, so as not to check their 

 growth. 



Another mode is to cover a small piece of ground in the 

 autumn with a sufficient thickness of manure or leaves to 

 keep out the frost, removing the covering in February, and 

 then placing a frame and sashes over the soil and sowing 

 the seeds in it. The frame must be protected from frost 

 by suitable coverings to the sashes, and banking up the 

 framo with earth or manure. The seeds may also be sown 

 in February hi pots or boxes in a light, warm cellar, keep- 

 ing them close to the windows. The plants raised by 

 either of these modes are to be transplanted as already 

 directed. The pods should be gathered for use when the 

 beans are half grown, as they are then delicate in fla- 

 vor, while if allowed to grow larger they become coarse 

 flavored, flatulent and indigestible. 



Many varieties are grown abroad, but for our climate 



