June 17, 1891. 



Garden and Forest. 



283 



six inches in diameter. Each leaf is five feet in length by 

 eight inches in breadth, channeled all along the midrib, 

 and colored bright green, with darker reticulated veins. 

 The peduncle measures two and a half feet in length, and 

 the head is composed of about fifty flowers, each with a 

 tube four inches long and spreading segments nearly as long. 

 C. Asiaticum belongs to the evergreen group of Crinums, 

 all of which are easily cultivated, free-flowering and at- 

 tractive. They require a rich soil, plenty of water both 

 winter and summer, and a tropical temperature. Although 

 not much grown nowadays, C. Asiaticum has been in cul- 



Cultural Department. 

 Points of Merit in Vegetables. 



Snap Beans. — Since the general introduction of the wax- 

 podded sorts people have come to judge of this vegetable 

 almost entirely by its appearance, the longest, whitest, hand- 

 somest pods being considered the best ; but a better observa- 

 tion will show one that the whitest pods in the basket are by 

 no means the whitest when cooked. If we cook the clear white 

 pods of the Ivory Pod and the yellow ones of the Golden Wax, 

 we shall find the latter much the lighter and brighter colored ; 



Fig, 50. — Crinum Asiaticum. — See page 282. 



tivation over a century and a half. It is widely distributed 

 in the tropics of Asia, and it varies somewhat in conse- 

 quence. The following are now considered to be only 

 varieties of it by Mr. Baker — namely, C. declinatum, Herb. ; 

 C. sinicum, Roxb. ; C. procerum, Carey ; C. anomalum, 

 Herb. At Kew there is in cultivation a variety with leaves 

 handsomely streaked with creamy white. Suckers are 

 produced abundantly by large plants, and these, if removed 

 in spring and treated liberally, will grow into large speci- 

 mens in two years. The large, fleshy, tuber-like fruits of 

 this species are also freely produced on cultivated plants. 

 Kew. W. Watson. 



and if we go further and taste them, there will be no doubt as 

 to which is of the better quality. The value of a snap bean rests 

 in its fleshy pod, and in judging of the merits of different lots 

 we should not only look at the external shape and color, but 

 at the flesh. This should completely fill the pod so that there 

 is little depression between the seeds, and on cutting the pod 

 at these points there should be no cavity seen. The flesh, too, 

 should be firm and solid. In some sorts it is very juicy, and 

 even watery when the pod is young, but speedily becomes 

 spongy or pithy. Last, but by no means least, the pod should 

 be, as the Europeans say, "free from parchment" — that is, the 

 inner lining of the pod should be thin and without fibre, a 

 point which is often overlooked, the observer being satisfied 

 if there is no " string " at the back. 



