VEGETABLES DESCRIPTION AXD CULTURE. 281 



ing the seed two inches apart in the row. Cover the seeds 

 about an inch and a half deep. A pint of seed will plant 

 about one hundred and twenty-five feet of rows. When 

 the plants come up, thin them gradually to six or eight 

 inches in the row, and they will be much more vigorous 

 and productive. The Late Valentine does best in hills 

 eighteen inches apart. Plant four or five beans to a hill. 

 Keep them always clean, and the soil light and mellow 

 with the hoe. Draw the earth carefully about their stems 

 when about to flower, making broad, low hills to protect 

 the roots from heat and drought. If well cultivated, the 

 same plants will continue to bear a long time. Do not 

 hoe any of the kidney beans, whether dwarf or runners, 

 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 plauts 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, 



