VEGETABLE GROWING 399 



ful to give them good, deep holding, retentive soil. In all cases where possible the 

 ground should be deeply trenched and heavily manured in the preceding winter. Where 

 that is not practicable, there should be opened for each row a trench 20 inches wide and 

 deep, the bottom then broken up with a fork, layers of soil and manure being added until 

 the trench is filled. After settling down for a few days, the Beans should be sown in 

 drills drawn with a hoe, 3 inches deep and 6 inches apart, down the centre of the trench, 

 the seeds being placed in these drills at not less than 6 inches apart so as to give the 

 plants ample room. The drills should then be carefully filled with fine soil. So far the 

 culture is simple, so much depending upon the preparation of the ground, thin sowing, 

 and good seed. That can always be had good by careful saving from the previous 

 season's stock, or purchasing from a good seedsman. 



The time of sowing should not be too early, except where it is possible to give the plants 

 good shelter. Thus a sowing may be made as early as the middle of April at the bottom 

 of a warm sunny wall or wood-fence. This sowing should be made, however, only to 

 secure a few early pickings, as it is too hot later on. Generally the first sowing may be 

 made quite early in May, as then the plants are usually through the ground in two weeks. 

 A second sowing, to give a good succession, may be made a month later. 



Supports should be furnished before the plants begin to throw up tendril or climbing 

 stems. In whatever form, they should be fixed about 3 inches from the plants along each 

 side of the rows, and range from 5 to 7 feet in height. We have seen, where soil was 

 deep and good and stakes tall, Runner Beans reach a height of 9 feet, cropping abundantly 

 all the way up. Preference should be given to long rods, and each plant should have its 

 own stake. These the climbing tops soon attach themselves to, or, if need be, can be helped 

 to find their own proper supports. 



Manuring. There is great need for liberal manuring of the ground for these pod-bear- 

 ing crops. Abundant produce can only be had when growth is strong, indeed, almost 

 luxuriant. To create that, plenty of good nitrogenous manure, such as animals give, 

 is needful. Further, all these plants like occasional good soakings of liquid manure in 

 the form of house sewage, or slops, or the drainage of stables, cow-sheds, pig-styes, &c., 

 in dry weather. Also they benefit by being syringed in the evenings with clear water 

 in hot weather, such dampings especially helping flowers to set seeds rather than to fall 

 prematurely from the plants. Artificial manures are best given in liquid form, after being 

 soaked in a tub. Four pounds of any good artificial manure will make 40 gallons of liquid 

 manure. 



Gathering the pods should not be neglected, as allowing many to remain on the 

 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 Scarlet Giant, Hackwood 

 Park Success, Exhibition, and Prizewinner. There are also climbing forms of the so-called 

 French Beans, and these need the same treatment as Scarlet Runners. 



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 earliest is Ne Plus Ultra. That 

 can be succeeded by Magnum Bonum and Canadian Wonder. The latter two are rather 

 strong growers. There are many other new varieties, including those with golden, 

 stringless pods, all of which are good. 



Beet. 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 



