94 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



The seed of this variety hardly differs from that of the Scarlet 

 Runner, but the flowers are half red and half white, the keel and 

 wings being white, and the standard scarlet-red. 



4. Hybrid Scarlet Runner. — The seeds of this kind are very 

 distinct, being a gray-yellow blotched with brown ; the flowers are 

 variegated like those of the Painted Lady. 



5. The White Runner. — This is the only kind that is sometimes 

 grown in France as a vegetable. Stems very vigorous, climbing, 



attaining a height of 

 nearly 10 ft. in a few 

 weeks ; flowers white, in 

 numerous long - stalked 

 clusters ; pods broad, very 

 flat, seldom containing 

 more than three or four 

 seeds each ; seeds white, 

 full, very large, kidney- 

 shaped, sometimes i in. 

 long, f in. broad, and 

 in. thick. The seeds 

 of Scarlet Runner Beans 

 do not usually ripen well 

 in the climate of Paris. 

 In the south of France, 

 however, this species, 

 which is very hardy and 

 very productive, is grown, 

 to a moderate extent, as 

 a vegetable, and in some 

 other countries it is very 

 highly esteemed. In the 

 north of France, the seeds 

 ^/ ^S^S*MII^KC\f thick-skinned, and 



v'v .MSm^M^if^hLilkTi are deficient in delicacy 



of flavour. They contain 

 a great deal of flour, but 

 are inferior, especially in 

 the dried state, to any of 

 the good French varieties 

 of Kidney Beans. In 

 England the pods are most generally used in the young green 

 state, many preferring the flavour of these when quite young to 

 that of the Kidney Beans in a similar stage. They are best pulled 

 when they have attained about two-thirds of their development, 

 just when the seeds begin to form, and if cut lengthwise in narrow 

 strips they cook much more readily. 



"White Runner Bean (yV natural size). 



