BOOK I. KIDNEYBEAN. G21 



duction, especially the long-pod, broad Spanish, and Toker ; also any of the early sorts, which are more 

 successful in late planting, than the larger broad varieties. The white-blossomed bean, though the 

 smallest of the middle-sized, is a very desirable sort to plant as secondary crops, both in the general and 

 late planting seasons, from March till June and July ; being a great bearer, and a tender and sweet 

 eating bean, if gathered young. Any of the other sorts named in the above list may also be planted oc- 

 casionally, to increase the variety. For sowings in June and July, the small or early kinds again become 

 the most proper, as their constitution fits them for standing late as well as early. Thus regular supplies 

 may be provided for in succession, from June till September." (Abercrombie.) 



3618. Quantity of seed. For early crops, one pint of seed will be requisite for every eighty feet of 

 row ; for main crops, two quarts for every 240 feet of row ; and for late crops, nearly the same as the 

 early. For the main crops, the quantity cultivated in proportion to that for early or late crops, is gene- 

 rally treble or quadruple, as to the extent of ground : but a less quantity of seed is requisite for the same 

 space. 



3619. Method of sowing. " Plant all the sorts in rows, two feet and a half apart, for the smaller, or 

 very early, or very late kinds ; and three feet for the larger : the smaller beans two inches deep, and 

 three inches distant in the row ; the larger three inches deep, and four inches distant in the row." 



3620. Transplanting. Speechly constantly transplants his early bean-crops, and considers that this 

 plant may be as easily transplanted as cabbage, or any other vegetable. It is a practice with him to 

 plant beans alternately with potatoes in the same row ; the rows three feet apart, and the potatoes eigh- 

 teen inches apart in the row, so that the beans arc nine inches from the potatoes. The beans are 

 transplanted, by which means they have the start and advantage of the potatoes and weeds, and as they 

 come in early," may be gathered before they can possibly incommode or injure the potatoes. (Practical 

 Hints, &c. p. 17.) 



3621. Manual process. " The work of sowing is most generally effected by a dibble, having a thick 

 blunt end, to make a wide aperture for each bean, to admit it clean to the bottom, without any narrow 

 hollow part below : strike the earth fully and regularly into the holes, over the inserted beans. Or the 

 planting may be performed occasionally in drills drawn with a hoe the proper depth and distance as 

 above : place the beans at intervals along the bottom of each drill, and earth them over evenly; which 

 method, though suitable to any kinds, may be more particularly adopted in sowing the early and other 

 small sorts." 



3622. Soaking seed in summer. " In planting late crops in June and July, if the weather be dry, it is 

 eligible to give the beans a previous soaking for several hours in soft water ; or, if they are to be sown in 

 drills, water the drills beforehand, then directly put in the beans, and earth them in while the ground 

 remains moist." 



3623. Subsequent culture. " As the plants come up, and advance from two to four or six inches high, 

 hoe up some earth to the stems on both sides of each row, cutting down all weeds. Repeat the hoeing 

 as future weeds arise, both to keep the ground about the plants clean, and to loosen the earth to encou- 

 rage their growth. In earthing up, great care must be taken that the eartli do not fall on the centre of 

 the plant so as to bury it ; for this occasions it to rot or fail. After earthing up, stir between the rows 

 with a three-pronged fork. As the different crops come into full blossom, pinch or cut off the tops, in 

 order to promote their fruiting sooner, in a more plentiful production of well filled pods." (Abercrombie.} 

 Nicol says, " Topping is unnecessary for any but the early crops ; being practised to render them more 

 early." Most gardeners, however, are of opinion, that topping improves the crop both in quantity and 

 quality. It might be worth an ingenious young gardener's while to try the effect of ringing at the bot- 

 tom of the stalk, against cutting off the top. 



3624. To forward an early crop, see this article under Pea. (3606.) 



3625. To produce a very late crop. Neill mentions an expedient sometimes resorted to to produce a late 

 crop. A compartment of beans is fixed on ; and when the flowers appear, the plants are entirely cut over, 

 a few inches from the surface of the ground. New stems spring from the stools, and these produce a 

 very late crop of beans. 



3626. Gathering. For table use, gather only such as are tender, the seeds decreasing in delicacy after 

 they attain about half the size which they should possess at maturity. When they become black-eyed, 

 they are tough, and strong tasted, and much inferior for eating. 



3627. To save seed. " Either plant some of the approved sorts, in February or 

 March, wholly for that purpose ; or leave some rows of the different crops ungathered, 

 in preference to the gleanings of gathered crops. The pods will ripen in August, 

 becoming brown and dry, and the beans dry and hard : then pulling up the stalks, place 

 them in the sun, to harden the seed thoroughly, after which thresh out each sort 

 separately." (Abercrombie.} 



3628. To force the bean, see Chap. VII. Sect. XII. 



SUBSECT. 3. Kidneybean. Phaseolus, L. Diadel Decan. L. and Leguminosa, J. 

 Haricot, Fr. ; Schminkbohne, Ger. ; and Fagiuolo, Ital. 



3629. The common dwarf kidneybean, the haricot of the French, and erroneously 

 termed French bean, is the P. vulgaris, L. (Lob. Ic. 2. p. 59.) It is a tender annual, a 

 native of India, and introduced in 1597, or earlier. Flowers from June to September. 

 The species called the runner is the P. multiflorus, Willd. (Schk. Han. 2. 7. 199. a.) a 

 half hardy annual, and a native of South America, introduced in 1633. It is rather 

 more tender than the other ; produces flowers from July to September. The stem of 

 both species is more or less twining, though little of this propensity is shown in the 

 dwarfish kinds. The leaves are ternate, on long foot-stalks; the flowers on axillary 

 racemes; the corolla generally white, sometimes yellow, red, or purple. The pods are 

 oblong, swelling slightly over the seeds, which are generally kidney-shaped, smooth, and 

 shining, when ripe, varying in color according to the variety, and either white, black, blue, 

 red, or spotted. The fruit of both sorts may be had in perfection from the open garden, 

 by successive crops from June to October. Speechly suggests (Practical Hints on Domestic 

 (Economy, p. 15.), that the culture of the kidneybean might become an object of national 

 or field culture in this country, and be particularly useful in times of scarcity ; " more 

 especially, as on good land it will flourish and grow luxuriantly, even in a dry parching 

 season ; in which respect it differs from most other culinary vegetables." It is an article 

 of field-culture in most warm countries, especially France and America. 



3630. Use. The unripe pods are chiefly used in Britain as a legume, for which they 



