42 POPULAR VEGETABLES 



were excellent, and among the older varieties the 

 Early Dun, Mohawk, Sion House and Osborne's 

 Forcing." The French Bean when forced delights 

 in warmth and moisture, not so much at the roots as 

 in the atmosphere, and grown under these conditions 

 there is no difficulty in having good pods in six weeks 

 from the time of sowing the seed. A temperature 

 of 65 to 70 by day is none too much, indeed, with 

 ample supplies of moisture, the house with sun heat 

 may be 80 to 90 at closing. Avoid cold draughts, 

 and cold water soon checks growth, whilst dryness 

 is answerable for red spider, and a check of any 

 nature soon cripples growth. There are other ways 

 of forcing better than pot culture, and one consists 

 in growing the plants in low pits or houses, not 

 far from the glass. The roots should be in a good, 

 rich bed of soil, with a liberal amount of hot-water 

 pipes running underneath, so that the bottom heat is 

 never lower than 70 to 80. Grown in this way the 

 plant does splendidly, indeed, there is no difficulty in 

 getting three crops from the same plant. As soon as 

 one is gathered the plants are topped, dressed with a 

 quick-acting fertiliser or decayed manure, and given 

 a little more warmth to encourage new growth, and 

 tepid liquid manure is supplied to the roots. The 

 bed for plants grown thus should be from nine inches 

 to twelve inches deep, and there should be perfect 

 drainage ; the seed may be sown in the bed or in three- 

 inch pots, and the seedlings planted out firmly, care 

 being taken to keep the roots from injury. Sowing in 



