178 GARDENING FOR THE SOUTH. 



not hoe any of the kidney beans, whether dwarf or run- 

 ners, when the foliage is wet, as the plants will rust and 

 be greatly injured, if not destroyed. Choose dry weather 

 for working them, and hoe shallow when the plants get 

 large. The value of the crop depends greatly upon their 

 being properly thinned in the drills while young. 



Pole or running beans for snaps may be planted when 

 the main crop of bush beans is put in, or a few days later; 

 and at the South, a few hills should be planted monthly, 

 until July, to give a succession, for which nothing is bet- 

 ter than the corn-field varieties described. They should 

 be planted in rows about four feet apart, and the hills 

 from two and a half to three feet in the row. The hills 

 should be broad and raised some three inches above the 

 ground level. Put in the poles before planting, let them 

 be uniformly about ten feet long, and inserted well in the 

 ground. Put five or six beans around each pole, and 

 cover them an inch and a half deep, and when up, reduce 

 the plants to three in a hill, and where there are less than 

 that, plant again. 



Lima beans require a rich, strong soil, and will thrive 

 on heavy loams, where the other running beans and 

 snaps would not flourish. They are still more tender 

 than snaps, and should not be planted until settled warm 

 weather, as the seed will rot in cool weather, and the 

 slightest frost will destroy them if they chance to vege- 

 tate. The tenth of April is early enough in Middle 

 Georgia ; near New York City they plant a month later. 

 They may be forwarded by planting in small pots in a 

 hot-bed to be transferred, by breaking the balls, to the 

 open ground when three inches high. Lima beans will 

 not thrive if too much crowded ; the rows must be five feet 

 apart, and the hills three feet in the row. The space be- 

 tween may be cropped early in the season with Irish po- 

 tatoes, etc. When the plants begin to run, give them a 

 little assistance, if not inclined to cling to the poles. If 



