ON REARING KITCHEN VEGETABLES. 



89 



this is easily decided by the plumpness of its appearance) 

 scarcely any of i-t will fail. 



When sown in drills, these should be exactly similar to 

 those for the dwarf sort of peas, with subsequent similar 

 diggings and flat hoeings, but they will not require so much 

 earthing up. When a crop of beans is intended to be pro- 

 duced between the rows of cabbages or kale, it will be 

 much more convenient to sow the seed in beds in a warm 

 border, and plant them in the required situation by a 

 dibble when they are about two inches high. Beans, like 

 peas, should always be grown^in double rows, and where 

 they are to be dibbled out, shallow drills should be made 

 for this purpose and the young plants placed in them at 

 four inches apart, as soon as they are one or two inches 

 above the surface of the ground; for if they are left too 

 long in the seed-bed, they will never succeed well after- 

 wards. They should be liberally watered at the time of 

 planting, as well as on any subsequent occasion when they 

 may require it. It is a very profitable plan to plant rows 

 of beans at four or five feet distant, and place cabbages or 

 other crops between them, as directed for peas. 



Early crops may be obtained by sowing in pots or 

 frames, and transplanting in March. 



The depredations of mice must be guarded against; and, 

 when the plants are just coming into bloom, the dolphin 

 or black fiy, a sort of aphis, which first attacks the top 

 and then spreads in myriads over the leaves, will commit 

 frightful ravages if not checked. The bean crop was 

 nearly destroyed by them in Scotland in 1833. 



The best remedy is cutting off the parts attacked with a 

 pair of scissors into a dish. Even when the dolphin does 

 not appear, it is advisable to take about an inch from the 

 top of each bean plant, as this will prevent them from 

 growing any higher, being much blown about by winds, 

 and exhausting their strength to no purpose ; while, by 

 turning the course of the sap, it will cause the beans to 

 swell much better, and render them much finer and larger. 

 This should be done just as the first blossoms are begin- 

 ning to fade. It is not profitable in a small garden to save 

 seed. When, through occurrence of violent winds, beans 

 are thrown down, they must be supported by a few stakes 



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