LEGUMINOUS PLANTS.— THE SCARLET RUNNER. 



79 



out as it ascends, and therefore requires 

 to be kept more open at top, the runners 

 branch most near the bottom, and are 

 thinly furnished with side branches to- 

 wards the top. As noticed for pease, 

 strong wide-meshed netting, attached to 

 poles driven in along the rows, may be 

 very advantageously used where rods are 

 scarce ; and poles, furnished with cross 

 pieces of lath, about a foot in length, 

 nailed to them, will serve well for attach- 

 ing tarred cord or common twine to their 

 ends, and thus enclose the plants between 

 three, four, or five lines of cord, according 

 to their height. A very good way of train- 

 ing is to plant two rows 4 feet apart, to 

 procure rods of sufficient length to admit 

 of their thicker ends being thrust into the 

 line of each row. The smaller ends may 

 be brought together at the top, thus 

 forming an arch or curvilinear trellis. 

 These rods, if sufficiently strong, need 

 not be nearer each other than 3 or 4 

 feet ; and lines of cord should be stretched 

 from one to the other, taking a turn 

 round each in passing, and extending the 

 length of the rows. Four or five lines of 

 cord thus fastened will form a very excel- 

 lent trellis for the runners to grow over, 

 and form at the same time a nice shady 

 arbour. Three larch poles, set in a trian- 

 gular form, and fixed together at the 

 summit, form a good pyramidal conduc- 

 tor for such plants. The London market- 

 gardeners' practice is to top the plants 

 when they begin to form pods; and when 

 the object is to gather the crop in a green 

 state, immense quantities are thus pro- 

 duced. Where, however, seed is to be 

 ripened, in this country at least, stakes 

 are found to be indispensable. Cottagers 

 may attach cords to the wall under the 

 eaves of their house, fastening the lower 

 end to stumps of stick driven into the 

 ground. If a prepared border is made 

 along the bottom of the wall, and the 

 beans set in it, they will entwine them- 

 selves around the cords, and thus improve 

 the appearance of the cottage, and afford 

 an excellent supply of a nutritious veget- 

 able food. 



Soil and manure. — A soil richer, and even 

 deeper, than that suited to the pea is in 

 this case required. In newly-broke-up 

 soils, all the leguminosae prosper well ; 

 and in older ones, if rich in humus, they 

 produce wonderful crops. Light, poor, or 



gravelly land, although it hastens the 

 maturity of the crop, is incapable of 

 yielding such returns as those we have 

 stated. 



Forcing. — The scarlet runner, on ac- 

 count of its rambling growth, is unsuited 

 for the forcing-house, and hence is never 

 obtained earlier than the period of its na- 

 tural growth. 



Taking the crop, and subsequent preserva- 

 tion. — The young pods are gathered when 

 from 2\ to inches in length, and be- 

 fore the seed begins to form within them. 

 When rapidly grown, they may be used of 

 a larger size, and in that case they are cut 

 into long narrow slices when about to 

 be dressed. When the seeds have fully 

 formed in them, they are unfit for use in 

 their green state. When grown for their 

 seed, whether for future sowing or for 

 haricots, they are pulled up when fully 

 ripe, dried in the sun and stacked by, and 

 afterwards separated from the pods for 

 use, either by being thrashed out or by 

 hand-picking, and the seed bagged or 

 otherwise stored by till wanted. 



Approved sorts, and their qualities. 1. Scarlet 

 runner. — Attains the height of from 9 to 1 2 feet; 

 flowers beautiful red, and abundant ; pods rough 

 on the outside; nevertheless they are, while 

 young, as crisp and as well flavoured as any of 

 the dwarf sorts ; beans, when dry, dark red and 

 spotted. Known also as the tall scarlet runner, 

 a mere seed-list name. It is the Haricot d'Es- 

 pagne, or ecarlate, of the French. ; 



2. White Dutch runner. — Pods rather longer 

 and smoother than in the last ; flowers and beans 

 white ; does not continue so long in a bearing 

 state as the last ; is known as the case-knife 

 runner ; scarcely attaining so great a height as 

 the last. 



3. Painted lady. — Resembling the last two in 

 habit; the flowers, however, are variegated, 

 being of a bright scarlet colour, intermingled 

 with pure white, and hence very ornamental; 

 not so productive as the last two, nor quite so 

 delicate to eat. We believe this to be the same 

 as the York and Lancaster runner of some seed- 

 catalogues. It is the Haricot d'Espagne, a fleur 

 bicolore, or panache, of the French. 



These are the principal sorts in cultivation in 

 Britain. The Americans possess many varieties 

 of haricots, such as the Lima pole bean, but, 

 like the Sieva and other sorts, they are by far 

 too tender for our climate ; and the same may 

 be said of several European sorts, which, upon 

 trial, are either too tender, or inferior to those 

 named above. Of these we may name the Prague 

 runner, or red pea, which, although related more 

 to the true kidney bean than to the section in 

 which the three above runners stand, has some 

 merits also, the pods being tender, while the 

 seed is round, and, when ripe, rather thick- 



