FRENCH BEAN 



VEGETABLE GABDEN scablet eunnee 1127 



doors from the middle of April to the end 

 of June or even July in the south, and the 

 beans are fit for picking in about 2 months 

 from, the date of sowing. 



Where an early crop is required seeds 

 may be sown in March in a cold frame or 

 in boxes in a greenhouse, and about the 

 end of April in southern parts, and in 

 favourable weather the young plants may 

 be transferred to the open ground. In 

 the event of late spring frosts in May a 

 hght covering of clean straw or litter, or 

 even a flower pot or small box over each 

 plant at night, will afford ample protection. 

 The plants when transferred to the open 

 ground in this way should be 9-12 in. 

 apart, and the rows may be about 2-3 ft. 

 from each other. 



When seeds are sown in the open 

 ground they should be about 3 in. apart, 

 as the chances are that a very fair per- 

 centage will not germinate. This is 

 often due to the attacks of a small white 

 grub which eats away the germ of the 

 seed. It is not a bad plan, especially where 

 ground is scarce, to sow rows of French 

 Beans between Cabbages, Lettuces, or 

 other crops which will give protection from 

 frost when the young plants come above 

 the surface. The plants are afterwards 

 thinned out to the proper distance apart 

 if too thick. Raising the plants in cold 

 frames as mentioned above, and planting 

 out, is perhaps on the whole preferable, as 

 very few plants are lost, and the labour 

 of thinning out is saved. The drills, how- 

 ever, may be dusted with lime and soot 

 before and after sowing, as recommended 

 for Peas (p. 1123) and other crops. 



General treatment. — This is practi- 

 cally the same as for Peas and Broad 

 Beans, and consists in pulling the earth 

 up to the young plants, mulching with 

 manure, watering freely in hot dry 

 weather, and keeping the weeds down by 

 vising the hoe between the rows. 



Picking. — The Beans should be 

 picked before they become too tough and 

 leathery in texture. When fresh and 

 green the strings or fibres in the pods are 

 not so evident, but later on they have to 

 be detached from the Beans before cook- 

 ing. Great efforts are made to obtain a 

 Dwarf Bean which shall be ' stringless,' 

 and there are indications that this desir- 

 able result wiU be attained very shortly. 



By frequent picking the plants remain 

 much longer in bearing, and are not 

 exhausted so quickly. A few of the finest 



plants may be allowed to ripen their pods 

 for seeds the following season, but it is 

 wise to have a change of seed every two 

 or three seasons. 



Varieties. — The best of these are 

 Canadian Wonder, a very heavy cropper ;. 

 Negro Long Pod, very free and early ; 

 Ne Plus Ultra, very dwarf and compact,, 

 early, and delicate in flavour. There are 

 many other varieties in catalogues, but 

 the above are the best for outdoor garden- 

 ing — others being more suitable for forcing 

 during the winter months in a high tem- 

 perature ui greenhouses. 



RUNNER or CLIMBING BEAn 



(Phasbolus multiploeus). — This is prac- 

 tically a climbing variety of the Dwarf 

 French Bean, and having the same 

 nature and tenderness requires to be 

 grown in the same way. It is a native Of 

 S. America, and although naturally a 

 perennial it is grown in our climate as a 

 tender annual under the popular name Of 

 Scarlet Runner. 



Soil. — Although any ordinary good 

 garden soil will produce excellent scarlet 

 Eunners, they prefer a light rich loam 

 which should have been deeply dug or 

 trenched and well manured some time 

 previous to planting or sowing. 



Sowing. — The seeds of Scarlet Eunners 

 may be sown out of doors at the same 

 time as those of the French Bean, that is, 

 from April till the beginning of July. The 

 first sowing should not be made before 

 the end of April or the first week in May 

 in bleak looaKties, as the young plants, 

 if above the soil too soon, may be cut 

 down by frost. They should have the 

 soil drawn up to them, and may be 

 also mulched and well watered during the 

 summer months to obtain the finest 

 results. It is an excellent plan to sow 

 the seeds in trenches 9-12 in. wide and 

 6-9 in. deep, as recommended for Peas, 

 especially in dry porous soils. 



As the plants develop, however, they 

 must be provided with stakes 6 8 or 9 ft. 

 high, in the same way as Peas (p. 1123). 

 When grown in rows, the latter should be 

 4-6 ft. apart, so that the plants shall not 

 cast too much shade upon each other ; or 

 they may be grown as an ornamental as 

 well as a useful crop, to cover up the sides 

 of walls, raiUngs, fences &c. Strings ar- 

 ranged horizontally and vertically may be 

 fixed for the plants to climb up, and during 

 the summer months when in full bloom 



