622 



THE PRACTICAL GARDENER. 



[Jan, 



in a pit heated by fire, steam, or hot water, will produce 

 abundant crops of beans. When the plants ai'e in full bear- 

 ing, they will be much invigorated by having an application of 

 liquid manure applied to their roots, and also once or twice 

 during the growth of their fruit, and even while in bk)ssom. 



Kidney-beans are sometimes grown in vineries and peach- 

 liouses ; in the former they are liable to be too much shaded, 

 and in the latter, the red spider, of which it is difficult to keep 

 them entirely clear would be dangerous to introduce, as the 

 tender leaves of the peach, wl^en once attacked with that in- 

 sect, Arc sensibly injured by it ; besides, either of these de- 

 partments is much better suited for strawberries tlian for beans. 



FORCING POTATOES. 



This valuable root, although capable of being preserved 

 from one season to another, is nevertheless required in a young 

 state at the tables of the rich nearly three-fourths of the year, 

 and various modes liave been tried to produce this esteemed 

 root at an early period of the year. A slight degree of tem- 

 perature is found sufficient for the purpose; but, like many 

 other exotic vegetables, it is extremely impatient of frost. In 

 the open air, it is one of the first that indicates the tempera- 

 ture of an autumnal night. In cultivating it at this early sea- 

 son, care must be taken to protect it from the effects of a low 

 temperature, by carefully covering with mats every night. 



The most general and successful mode of accelerating this 

 crop is upon beds of hot dung. For this purpose, a quantity 

 of dung should be prepared, by repeated turning and ferment- 

 ing, until all the rankness evaporates ; and when in a proper 

 state to build into a bed, it should be put up to the height of 

 three and a half or four feet, and the lights put on. In a few 

 days it will be fit to receive the plants, which should be pre- 

 paring, while the dung is undergoing the necessary fermenta- 

 tion, by being cut and partially dried, and then planted into 

 boxes or pots in some light dry mould, and placed in any of 

 the hot-houses then at work, or in a cucumber-frame ; they 

 will have sprung two or three inches during the time the dung 



