34 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
January 20 
that I can pfrow all our plants without using any 
stable manure. This photograph (see Fig. 10) shows 
one of our flower beds that had nothing on it but 
Bradley’s phosphate. It can hardly be surpassed for 
beauty and vigorous growth.” 
“But how about the humus or vegetable matter 
needed in the soil ? ” 
“It is my opinion that the thorough trenching we 
do every spring—turning all the soil carefully over— 
will take the place of much of the vegetable matter 
said to be needed to ‘lighten up the soil.’” 
“ How about the use of manure on grass or new 
seeding ? ” 
“ I want to give you nothing but facts, so I will not 
speak positively about that. I have a large piece of 
new ground seeded to grass with these fertilizers 
alone. It is not old enough yet to give definite re¬ 
sults, but I am perfectly well satisfied that it will 
prove a success. As for maintaining lawns and fields 
without manure—it can be easily done. I speak 
positively about our flower beds for they are our most 
important features, and I have given fertilizers a care¬ 
ful test. No more manure for me 1 ” 
The Lessons From the Flower Beds. 
Rural Grounds Notes. 
THE NEW HORTICULTURAL LIMA BEAN. 
ITS HISTORY AND PROBABLE VALUE. 
Among the novelties of last year none, perhaps, 
enlisted more interest that this supposed cross between 
the Lima and old Horticultural Pole bean. Mr. D. C. 
Hicks in a private note says: “The cross was made by 
insects. I find it a very difficult matter to make 
crosses upon the Lima. I have been experimenting 
in that line for three years and have succeeded in 
getting only two. One of them is a dwarf form.” Our 
readers may remember that Luther Burbank, whom 
we first credited with the origin of the Horticultural 
Lima, wrote us that he had failed in his endeavors to 
cross the Lima. Following is Mr. Hicks’s account of it: 
Origin and History of the Horticultural Lima Bean. 
The originator of this bean was Mr. J. H. Hodges, 
of Addison County, Vermont In che year 1885, he 
had planted in his garden a few hills each, of the 
Challenge Lima and Speckled Cranberry, or Horticul¬ 
tural Pole. The season was a very favorable one. 
of the type of the Horticultural Pole than the Lima, 
while the structure and shape of the pod and bean be¬ 
long to the latter. It roots very strongly, and its ra¬ 
pidity of growth under favorable conditions is some¬ 
thing remarkable. It begins to blossom early and sets 
its crop close to the ground. I do not consider it so 
strong a runner as either of its parents, and use poles 
six to eight feet high in my field culture. While not 
so productive as some of the large varieties of Limas, 
it is still a good yielder, and I have grown 30 bushels 
of handpicked beans to the acre. The quality is ex • 
cellent green, shelled or dry ; the color is dark only 
when cooked in .the dry state. The pod is tough and 
leathery and protects the inclosed beans from injury 
when they come in contact with the soil. It is not 
an easy bean to shell in the green state, but will com¬ 
pare well with other Limas in that respect. I find it, 
at the proper stage of growth, an excellent snap short 
bean, and it was so reported by Prof. Taft on his first 
trial of it in 1891. As tested last season, it is two 
weeks earlier than the Horticultural Pole. 
Rutland County, Vt. D. c hicks. 
How It Behaved at the Rural Grounds. 
Our seed was procured from D. M. Ferry & Co., of 
The plants used at Forest Hills are all hardy and 
acclimated. They are kept through the winter in 
green-houses on a “ maintenance” ration only—that is, 
simply kept thriving and ready for 
re-setting in the spring ; of course 
many thousands of cuttings are 
rooted through the winter ready for 
transplanting the latter part of May. 
One can see how necessary it is to 
have the beds filled with strong and 
soluble plant food that will force 
these plants at once into growth. 
Mr. Barker’s experience in learn¬ 
ing the real difference between ma¬ 
nure and fertilizers is the course 
through which many farmers have I 
gone. The fact that ashes and ma- /I 
nure give better results than manure P'1 
alone, while ashes alone will fail to |lj 
show results, after a time, can hardly K 
fail to point out to an investigating " 
mind why stable manure, when used 
alone, maybe a costly form of plant 
food. It is not well balanced—its 
nitrogen being out of proportion to 
its potash and phosphoric acid. The 
ashes supply these last named sub- 
stances, but it is easy to figure that 
at present prices, manure is a costly IJli'iJ'f 
form of nitrogen, while ashes do 
not give us, by any means, the I'f/IIJB;;'* 
cheapest potash and phosphoric 
acid. Looked at in this way, it 
needs but a step further to observe 
that a fertilizer of good analysis is Wflll 
but a mixture in which the nitrogen 
of the manure, and the potash and 
phosphoric acid of the ashes have 
been combined at less cost and bulk. 
Such is the composition of a good 
fertilizer, and Mr. Barker’s testi¬ 
mony as to its value for ornamental 
crops is abundantly supported by 
others. We know that fertilizers, 
as compared with manure, hasten 
the maturity of fruits and grains, 
and now we see the same action with flowers. In fact, 
gardeners throughout New England who compete at 
tbe flower shows, know that flowers grown with fer¬ 
tilizers alone have carried off hundreds of dollars in 
prizes. 
Mr. Tassinari the celebrated gardener at the Danvers 
Insane Asylum used the same fertilizers with marked 
success. He says that geranium blossoms grown with 
fertilizers were so large and full that many gardeners 
seeing them from a little distance thought they were 
hardy rhododendron beds. He says the fertilizers 
were by far the best for fresh and vigorous growth 
and the Limas ripened nicely. When harvesting them 
Mr. Hodges found one pod containing six beans, of 
what is now known as the Horticultural Lima; these 
'W';; <>" 
hjnmM 
Horticultural Lima Bean Leaves. Fig. 13. 
he carefully laid away and the next spring planted 
them; each bean produced a plant that bore beans of 
the perfect type of the seed stock. The next two 
seasons were cold and frosty, and as the location was 
an elevated valley among the Green Mountains, he 
came very near losing his entire stock of the new 
variety. In the fall of 1888 Mr. H., who was an exten¬ 
sive grower of seedling potatoes, made an exhibit of 
his seedlings at the Vermont State Fair, held at Bur¬ 
lington, and took along what he had of his new bean, 
a small handful. Not finding a customer for it, at the 
close of the Fair he gave the entire lot to Mr. O. H. 
Detroit, Mich., and planted May 12. Ordinarily our 
market gardeners about us send their first shelled 
Limas to market about July 25 planting about April 
25. Last spring was so backward 
that planting was not done until 
May 10 and the first Limas were 
marketed not until August 1. 
On July 23 we shelled and cooked 
one quart of the Horticultural Lima. 
The pods and beans varied much 
in size. Many of the pods were 
six inches and over long, carrying 
five and seven beans, some the size 
of Sievas, others as large as medium 
sized Limas. The younger beans 
(pods) were good enough as snaps. 
But this is of little advantage since 
bush snaps of better quality had 
been in use for two weeks or more. 
The vines were very productive, as 
much so as any pole Lima. 
August 4.—The first lots of Limas 
' being picked for market. 
Horticultural Limas average 
five to six inches in length with 
an average of six seeds. The pods 
are quite straight and three-quarters 
of an inch broad. The vines have 
reached the tops of eight-foot poles 
and are very productive. The color 
of the beans is a light faded purple 
August 7.—The quality is thought 
good as that of Limas and 
the skin is thicker. It may be of 
value as a winter bean. Its chief 
value over Limas is that it matures 
earlier and can be profitably grown 
^ where Limas will not mature. 
August 16.—Most of the beans are 
ripe and the vines are dying. 
Drought, no doubt, has induced an 
early maturity. The dry seeds are 
of a dull, cream white spattered 
with amber colored markings. 
When the ripe beans were served 
as Limas are usually served they were regarded by 
four persons as (1) “not so delicate as Limas(2) 
“there is a rank flavor about them (3) “ the flavor 
is good enough, but the skin is tough—the flesh too 
mealy ;” (4) “I like them as well as Limas.” 
The illustrations—drawn from photographs—show 
the plant (Fig. 12), pods (Figs. 14 and 15), and small 
and medium-sized seeds (Fig. 13), and the leaves 
(Fig. 11.) 
What Seedsmen Think Of It. 
Inquiries mailed to a number of Seedsmen have 
brought us the following replies : 
H 
during the hot summer weather. Why should it not 
be, since, with soluble fertilizers the plant can be fed 
as accurately and scientifically as a baby ? 
These experiments at Forest Hills and Danvers, as 
well as at many other places, certainly demonstrate 
that, for out door ornamental plants, a weU balanced 
fertilizer will prove a perfect substitute for manure. 
h. w. c. 
You will notice in another column the 
announcement of a new edition of Mr. 
E. S. Carman’s book, The New Potato 
Culture. Are you growing potatoes 
without the aid of this book ? This volume 
contains the information you want. 
Alexander, of Charlotte, Vt., who took them home 
with him and expected to plant them the next spring 
on his trial grounds. But in the hurry of an exten¬ 
sive business they were overlooked and laid in a 
drawer until in the late fall of that year, when Mr. 
A. found them, and at once sent me 68 beans, retaining 
a few for his own grounds. 
In the spring of 1890, I planted these 68 beans and 
grew 52 strong plants, which gave me 10 quarts of 
cured beans. These used as seed stock in the spring 
of 1891, produced a crop of 11 bushels. This crop was 
sold by Mr. Alexander to John Lewis Childs, who in¬ 
troduced it last season. 
As I have now grown this bean four seasons under 
many conditions of soil, climate and culture, perhaps 
a few notes of my experience with it will not be amiss 
at this time. Its foliage and habit of growth are more 
From D. Landreth & Sons. 
An early sort maturing for table ten days after 
Mohawk. Earlier than King of the Garden Lima 
bean. Very productive in pods containing four to five 
beans the size of Carolina—color dark cream with 
brown spots. A desirable addition to the list of pole 
beans. 
From Henry A. Dreer. 
I consider the new Horticultural Lima bean a 
novelty of merit. It was planted with me May 30, 
and matured July 23. It was quite tender, and the 
grain and pod may be used separately or together; 
very tender and prolific. 
From "W. Atlee Burpee & Co. 
Our sample of this was purchased direct from the 
iD.trQdwer and was given identically the same culture 
