VEGETABLES — DESCRIPTION AND CULTURE. 179 



these are too high, the vines are later in bearing, and the 

 crop out of reach in gathering. When they blossom, 

 pinch off the tips of the leading shoots, to hasten the 

 maturity of the crop. 



In planting Lima beans, place the eye downward and 

 the narrow end the lowest, as the bean always rises from 

 the ground in that position, and if not planted right, it 

 has to turn itself over in the soil, and if prevented by any 

 obstruction from turning over, it is sure to rot in the 

 ground. Planted in this way, they come up sooner, bet- 

 ter, and more evenly. A quart will plant about four hun- 

 dred hills. The subsequent culture consists in keeping 

 the ground frequently hoed when the vines are dry. They 

 will continue in bearing until cut off by the hard frosts. 



For Seed. — Gather both the Lima and kidney beans 

 when ripe and dry them thoroughly. The seed should be 

 kept pure by planting the varieties at a distance from each 

 other. Where subject to be destroyed by bugs, if saved 

 in paper bags, put them up in glass bottles or earthen jugs 

 well corked. Into each one pour, before corking, a tea- 

 spoonful of spirits of turpentine, The turpentine odor 

 will destroy the bugs, if the vessel is tightly corked, with- 

 out injuring the vitality of the bean. 



Use. — The tender, fleshy pods of snap-beans are a favor- 

 ite summer vegetable, very delicate, wholesome, and mod- 

 erately nutritive. They are boiled while green, and may 

 be preserved for winter use, by cutting them into pieces 

 and laying them down in salt. They will make their own 

 brine, and must be kept covered by it, or they will spoil. 

 Cook in two waters to extract the salt. The Lima beans, 

 and the snaps also, when full grown, are shelled, and may 

 be preserved for winter use, and afford in proportion to 

 their weight, more nutrition than most other vegetables. 

 Wheat contains but 74 per cent of nutritive matter, 

 while kidney beans contain 84 per cent. They abound in 

 the constituents that produce muscle and fat, and will 



