74 



CULINARY OR KITCHEN GARDEN. 



low pits, or on shelves suspended near the 

 glass. Moisture, accompanied with heat, 

 is also essential ; without this, they would 

 become the prey of thrip and red-spider. 

 In addition to the sorts we have already 

 named, may be mentioned the recently- 

 described variety, Newington wonder, 

 which from its dwarf habit is well calcu- 

 lated for suspended shelves in hothouses, 

 occupying less room than any of the other 

 popular sorts. It does not appear to stand 

 the process of transplanting, and should 

 therefore be sown at once in the pots it 

 is to be grown in, putting four or five 

 beans in pots of 6 or 7 inches across. 

 It does not require topping, as most 

 others do ; nor, indeed, does it bear such 

 a process with impunity. Give little 

 water to the roots of any transplanted 

 French beans, until the roots have pretty 

 w T ell filled the pots, — after which they will 

 require it more or less, according to the 

 size of the pots they are grown in ; those 

 in small pots, of course, requiring the 

 most. Water sparingly, if at all, after 

 planting the seeds : it is time enough 

 when they have begun to sprout, and 

 when their roots are far enough advanced 

 to be able to avail themselves of it. Top- 

 ping the plants is practised by many, and 

 no doubt those of rambling habits require 

 it, to cause them to become more bushy, 

 and hence to produce a greater number 

 of pods. The time and manner of doing 

 this is as soon as the cotyledons, or two 

 first embryo leaves, are fully developed ; 

 and then the central shoot, which will 

 also be making its appearance, should be 

 carefully pinched or cut out. This pro- 

 cess, however, somewhat retards the 

 growth of the plant at first ; but if time 

 is not an object, the advantage will be 

 apparent in a more abundant crop. 



Approved sorts, and their qualities. — The 

 varieties of kidney beans cultivated in Britain 

 are in reality not nearly so numerous as the 

 long list of names in some seed-lists would lead 

 us to believe. In France, Spain, and other 

 countries, where they are much more used as 

 an article of food, and where the climate is 

 favourable for their production in the open air, 

 with as little trouble, and for as long a continu- 

 ance, as our common broad bean, the varieties 

 are endless, and, as is the case with peas with 

 ourselves, continually increasing in number. 



1. The early Dutch dwarf. — One of the oldest, 

 if not the very oldest, cultivated variety. Pods 

 long and narrow ; beans small, compressed, and, 

 when ripe, of a white colour. A good early variety, 



and often employed for forcing, being of a dwarf 

 habit. It is known as white long pod Dutch, 

 early dwarf white, large white dwarf Dutch, 

 dwarf Dutch, dwarf white Dutch. It is the 

 nain hatif de Hollande, nain de Hollande tres 

 hatif of the French. 



2. Early white. — Both pods and beans of 

 moderate size ; plant very dwarf, from 9 to 11 

 inches ; very early, and on this account, and 

 its small size, well adapted for forcing. The 

 pods are eaten both while green and when the 

 seeds are ripe. It is known as early Laon and 

 dwarf white. It is the nain hatif de Laon, or 

 flageolet, of the French. The seeds when ripe 

 are white. 



3. Dwarf Canterbury. — This is a very old 

 and esteemed variety, hardy and useful. Pods 

 medium length, narrow; beans small, oblong, 

 white when ripe, branching much near the 

 ground; early and productive. It is so near 

 akin to the dwarf Battersea, early white, and 

 earliest white Battersea, as not to be worth cul- 

 tivating as a separate sort; and its relations 

 with what is called dwarf sabre, sabre nain, 

 dwarf French white, are nearly, if not altogether, 

 as close. It is probable two crops of dwarf 

 Canterbury would afford all these supposed 

 varieties. We think that dwarf Battersea ought 

 to be the established name, in preference to 

 dwarf Canterbury, as we find it has been culti- 

 vated above a century under the former name. 



4. Fulmer's early dwarf. — An excellent 

 forcing variety ; pods long, narrow ; beans 

 small, dun when ripe. Known also as Ful- 

 mer's new dwarf, Fulmer's early, Fulmer's 

 dwarf red, early dun, dwarf dun coloured, 

 dwarf forcing dun coloured, earliest forcing, 

 early frame. Mr R. Thompson, in his excellent 

 papers in the "Gardeners' Chronicle," on the 

 varieties of vegetables, remarks — " Close allied 

 to the preceding is Fulmer's speckled dwarf, 

 alias dwarf red speckled, dwarf light -red 

 speckled, early dwarf-forcing speckled, large 

 forcing dark-red speckled, Suisse rouge ; and 

 with beans a shade darker, we have also, very 

 similar to the above, the early dwarf purple 

 speckled, alias early purple, dwarf purple 

 speckled, dwarf speckled. Allowing for another 

 shade darker, and we may include with those 

 the dwarf black speckled, alias dwarf black 

 mottled." 



5. Wilmot's forcing cream speckled. — An ex- 

 cellent forcing variety. Pods long, of uniform 

 breadth; remarkable for crispness while green, 

 and an excellent bearer. Not a great way, 

 however, removed from the last, but sufficiently 

 distant. Beans, when ripe, oblong, pale dun, 

 speckled with dark chestnut. 



6. Black Belgian. — Pods long, of uniform 

 breadth ; crisp, very productive, and a good 

 forcer. Dwarfer and earlier than the dwarf 

 negro, which it somewhat resembles. This is 

 much cultivated in Belgium, and there known 

 as haricot noir de Belgique. 



Mr Thompson thus notices the bean, in the 

 " Journal of the Horticultural Society of Lon- 

 don," vol. v. : — " Although the variety has been 

 previously noticed" (in the Journal), "yet the 

 present mention of it will doubtless be excused, 



