ENGLISH BROAD BEAN. 



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least four feet apart. Tliin the plants, when they are well 

 up, to a foot in tho drill. Hoe the ground well, and keep 

 down the weeds. If sown in the open ground, support 

 them as you would peas with lattice or hrush. Give the 

 plants a little assistance in fastening themselves to the 

 trellis. Water in dry weather. Gather the fruit when 

 full grown, while still fresh and green. 



For Seed. — Let some of the berries mature, gather them 

 as they ripen, spread them to dry and harden, and store in 

 paper bags. 



Use. — The flowers and young leaves are used in salads, 

 and have a warm taste like water cress. The flowers are 

 used with those of borage in garnishing dishes. The ber- 

 ries, gathered green and pickled, form an excellent substi- 

 tute for capers. 



Vicia Fata — English Broad Bean. 



The English Broad Bean is an annual, from two to four 

 feet high, with Avhite, fragrant papilionaceous flowers, 

 with a black spot in the middle of the wings ; seed pods 

 thick, long, woolly within, enclosing large, ovate, flat 

 seeds, for the sake of which it is much cultivated in Eu- 

 rope. It is a native of Egypt, and has been cultivated 

 from time immemorial. 



Mazagan is sweet and agreeable in flavor, and pro- 

 duces well if planted early. Far the most productive 

 variety with me. 



Long Pod. — Stalks rise about three feet high, bears 

 well ; the pods are long, narrow, and well filled with 

 seeds. 



Culture — This is • not a very important crop in this cli- 

 mate, as the other beans are far better and more easily cul- 

 tivated. To give variety to early garden products, a few 

 may be planted in drills eighteen inches apart, and two 



