170 THE KITCHEN-GARDEN. [chap. vi. 
culture, except that the seeds should be 
sown two or three inches asunder, and only 
lightly covered; and that the rows should be 
at least three feet apart. The seeds are 
covered lightly, as abundance of both air and 
moisture are required to make seeds en¬ 
veloped in so thick a skin germinate; and 
the rows must be wide apart on account of 
their height, as otherwise the crop would 
not get enough sun and air. The scarlet- 
runner is properly a perennial, and if the 
plants are cut down to the ground after pro¬ 
ducing their crop, and their roots are cover¬ 
ed with dry litter, they will produce an early 
and abundant crop the following summer. 
Kidney-beans are very frequently forced 
nearly in the same manner as peas; viz., by 
sowing them in pots plunged in a hot-bed, 
and then removing them to a hot-house or 
green-house (according to the season) to 
fruit. Sometimes they are sown in the earth 
of the hot-bed, and fruited there like cucum¬ 
bers. The dwarf kidney-bean is a native of 
India, and was introduced before the time of 
Gerard; but the scarlet-runner is a native 
of South America, and was not introduced 
