April 9, 1892. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
508 
of the seed, this experienced grower told me one of 
the best crops that he ever had was from sets which 
were quite shrivelled and apparently exhausted of their 
healthy, life-invigorating properties. The variety in 
question was " Beauty of Hebron.” 
This reminds me of a theory promulgated say 
about forty years ago, that the Potato sets should 
be desiccated before planted, the which I tried at the 
time, but with no positive result to enable me to 
remain any other than neutral in my opinion re¬ 
garding that practice. And I may here observe, 
after over half a century’s close acquaintance with 
the grand old tuber, that in spite of all antidotes to 
combat the direful evil, should the enemy be 
backed up by the agents which in the first instance 
brought the pest into existence, the combat must of 
necessity be a very severe one, and the chances in 
the issue may be that we may see our noble army 
placed hors de combat ; it is a fact patent to all 
observing minds, that unless conditions are alike 
potent failures are all but inevitable .—Man of Kent. 
THE BROAD BEAN. 
We sow Broad Beans in March and up to the end 
of May for succession crops. As this is the season 
when sowing is in full swing, a few remarks in re¬ 
ference to this popular vegetable may not be out of 
place. 
The Broad Bean is a vegetable of great antiquity ( 
and must have been in cultivation from a very re¬ 
mote period. It is the Faba vulgaris of botanists. 
There are several types of it, but it is supposed they 
have all come from a common origin, the characters 
varying through cultivation. As far as we know we 
are indebted to the Romans for its introduction to 
this country, and it is said that one of the noblest 
families of ancient Rome was named Fabii, from 
their success with the culture of Beans. Years ago 
the Bean was regarded as an nnwholesome article of 
food, and the ancient philosophers advised their 
followers not to eat them ; now we know they take 
a high place as a nutritious article of diet. 
We may divide the garden Broad Bean into three 
types, viz., the small-podded forms, represented by 
the Dwarf Fan and Mazagan; the long pods, repre¬ 
sented by the Early Long-pod and its fine varieties, 
including the Seville and Aquadulce; and the 
Broad Windsor. The Dwarf Fan takes its name 
doubtless from its dwarf-growing, fan-shaped 
branches. It is also known as the Cluster, from its 
habit of producing its blossoms and pods in clusters. 
The pods are short, containing three or four Beans. 
It is an old and at one time a much esteemed garden 
variety. A green sport from this, named Beck’s 
Dwarf Green Gem, originated at Shipston-on-Stour 
about forty years ago, and was sent out by Messrs. 
Beck, Henderson & Child, a London wholesale seed 
firm now defunct. It is both dwarf and early, forces 
well, and on warm, rich land in the open is a great 
bearer, and highly esteemed on the table for its 
delicious flavour. Seed of it is never too plentiful, 
and it always commands a good price. 
The Early Mazagan Bean is one which used to be 
universally planted as a first early variety, and the 
older school of gardeners greatly esteemed it. The 
Mazagan Bean is supposed to have been originally 
brought from a Portuguese settlement on the coast 
of Africa. It is still recommended for sowing as an 
early crop by some who are somewhat ignorant, I 
am led to think, of its character. It is later than the 
Early Improved Longpods and the fine Seville type ; 
this was conclusively proved in the case of a trial 
made at theGardensof the Royal Horticultural Society 
a few years ago. Several varieties, white and green, 
appear to be cultivated under the name of Mazagan, 
but the form generally grown in this country is white 
seeded. 
Next comes the Longpod, rather taller growing 
than the Mazagan, the pods longer and larger, and 
producing four to six Beans. One of the first im¬ 
provements was Child’s Early Longpod, which 
proved to be considerably earlier than the old type; 
the Hangdown, Johnson’s Wonder, Mackie’s Mon¬ 
arch, and others are but selected varieties of the 
Early Longpod. 
The Seville Longpod is now a well-known variety, 
and it is now universally grown for exhibition 
purposes. It has been in cultivation in this 
country for thirty or forty years at least, 
and for a much longer period on the Continent, es¬ 
pecially in Spain, where it has done good service in 
supplying food in time of war. It is a very early 
variety, no doubt the earliest of our Longpods, bear" 
ing immensely long pods, the points of which reach 
to the ground and appear to prop up the plant. It 
is considered by some a little tender, but it now 
seems to have adapted itself to our colder climate, 
and to be as hardy as the Longpods. A fine 
variety named Aquadulce is said to be the true 
form of the Seville: a taller and somewhat 
stronger grower. The pods may not be so freely 
produced by the Seville type as by some of the 
others, but they make up for any deficiency in their 
increased size and length. Some very fine selec¬ 
tions of the Seville and Aquadulce bear the names of 
certain seed firms. Bunyard’s Exhibition Longpod 
is a variety that is making a great reputation. It 
seems to have been selected from the Johnson's 
Wonder type, and it is said to be the finest and most 
productive variety in cultivation, with handsome 
pods containing seven and even eight Beans in each. 
It is well worth a trial. 
The Broad Bean proper is now known as the 
Windsor Bean, and it is said to take this name from 
having been first cultivated in that neighbourhood 
by some of the Dutch gardeners who came over at 
the time of the Revolution, and in all probability 
brought this form of the Broad Bean with them. The 
Windsor Bean is later than the Longpod types, and, 
therefore, comes in well for main and late crops. 
The pods are broad, and contain two and three seeds 
according to the variety. Taylor’s Windsor 
is an improved form of the common type. An¬ 
other is the Harlington Windsor, so called from 
having been selected at that renowned market gar¬ 
den district in Middlesex. Illustrations of Windsor 
Beans are sometimes seen in catalogues, the pods of 
which contain four and five seeds. We make a little 
allowance for artists drawing upon their imagina¬ 
tions, or shall we say sketching according to orders. 
It is a very fine selection indeed of the Windsor 
Bean which produces three Beans in apod. If any¬ 
one could raise a variety certain to produce four, 
the stock would fetch a good price ; but it may be 
done by persistent selection. 
It is an interesting question whence come all the 
seed Beans that are sold in such enormous quantities 
by the London wholesale seedsmen ? The bulk of 
the Longpods are grown in Kent and Lincolnshire, 
and very few are grown anywhere else, excepting 
some parts of Cambridgeshire. East Kent is the 
great Longpod Bean-growing district. Johnson’s 
Wondor was named after a market gardener of that 
name who sent it out about forty years ago. Good 
types of the Longpod Bean are grown in Holland; 
the Dutch Longpod is regarded as a very good 
variety, and has now been grown in this country for 
many years. The great bulk of the Windsor Beans 
are grown in Suffolk; they require heavy land, and, 
this being the character of the Suffolk soil, they do 
well there. They are grown in some other counties 
in small quantities. The Seville Longpod Beans are 
apt to degenerate in this country, and so it is found 
best to import seed every year from France, Ger¬ 
many, and other countries. It is a Bean that always 
commands a good price in consequence. 
There are green-seeded forms of the Longpod and 
Windsor Beans which have no doubt originated as 
sports. The green forms are reputed to be better 
flavoured than the white-seeded ones. They are also 
preferred by cooks because they retain their green 
appearance when cooked, whilst the white types be¬ 
come of a dark brown colour, which is an objection¬ 
able feature with many. The Broad Bean is an ex¬ 
cellent vegetable when gathered at night time and 
properly cooked ; they are frequently gathered when 
they are too old. The flavour of the Broad Bean is 
wholly distinct from any form of Dwarf Kidney or 
Runner Bean ; but they should not be gathered be¬ 
fore they have attained half their size, as they some¬ 
times taste bitter when so small.— R. D. 
-- 
CALADIUMS. 
For decorating the stove or warm greenhouse during 
the summer months, these are one of the most valu¬ 
able plants we have. They may be started at once, 
and the present would seem a good time for a few 
hints upon the successful treatment of these very 
showy bulbous plants. Whenever Caladiums are 
staged in an exhibition tent they are sure to attract 
a crowd of admirers, and when we take into con¬ 
sideration the lovely colours and general appearance 
of the foliage, one can easily imagine their being 
great favourites. 
Unless you have plenty of room, and can secure a 
brisk stove temperature, I would not advise their 
being started before March. Pot the tubers into 
small pots, and use alight and porous soil. Let this 
be in a fairly moist condition, and plunge the pots 
in a gentle bottom-heat. Caladiums do not relish 
much water when first starting into growth, so that 
if you pot into moist soil and plunge the pots, you 
can secure a uniform moistness without the necessity 
of watering until after the bulbs are in fairly strong 
growth. After the roots have acquired a good hold 
of the soil and are active, they will require a good 
bit of water; this being the case, you should pay 
great attention to securing a good drainage. 
When the small pots are full of roots, shift on into 
6 -in. or 8-in. pots. Larger pots may be used where 
large specimens are desired, but as a general rule 
these sizes are the most useful for decorative work. 
In potting the plants on, give them a compost of 
light turfy loam, one part; leaf soil, one part; and 
dry • and old horse manure, one part. With the 
addition of a little coarse silver sand, this will be 
found an excellent compost. When the plants are 
shifted on, always keep the crown of the plant a 
little lower than before. Caladiums make a great 
many roots from the crown of the plant, and when 
the pots are full of roots a good mulching benefits 
them very much. Liquid manure may be applied 
when the pots have become full of roots ; at this time 
it will do a great deal of good, but if given earlier it 
has a tendency to make the soil sour and stagnant. 
This must not occur, or the roots suffer, and the 
foliage soon shows the effects. 
Unlike most bright-foliaged plants, Caladiums do 
not like much sun, and their colours are brought out 
much better when rather heavily shaded. A moist 
temperature without being syringed overhead is best 
for them. By gradually hardening them to an ordi¬ 
nary greenhouse heat, they are very handsome plants 
for house decoration, and last a considerable time. 
To obtain good shaped plants they must not be 
crowded at any time while growing. 
As autumn approaches the leaves will begin to fade 
and assume a yellow sickly colour. This is a sign 
they are ripening off for their winter’s rest. Water 
should be gradually withheld, until the foliage has 
quite died away. Now is a time when many make a 
fatal mistake with these bulbous plants : they keep 
them too dry, and above all too cool. Most of the 
splendid hybrids so generally grown are raised from 
species that were introduced from the hottest parts 
of Brazil, almost under the Equator. It will be seen 
from this fact that to grow them naturally and con¬ 
sequently more successfully, they should never be in 
a lower temperature than that of a warm greenhouse. 
It is an excellent plan to shake the stronger growing 
varieties out of the soil after the foliage has died 
down, place them in pans of sand, and then stand 
them in a warm part of the stove where they will be 
safe from any chance or accidental watering. 
Caladiums are particularly free from insect pest, 
green-fly being about the only one that troubles 
them. This is easily got rid of if tackled as soon as 
it appears. Propagation is effected by a careful 
division of the tubers when starting into growth. 
They are not expensive, and are certainly among the 
most showy foliage plants grown. 
The following are a few of the best varieties, and 
will make a very pretty and representative col¬ 
lection :— 
Caladium avgyrites ; small leaves, ground colour 
light green, margins and centre white, and beauti¬ 
fully blotched with white all over the remaining 
parts ; one of the smallest, and also one of the best 
for table decoration. 
C. minus enibescens ; of much the same habit and 
size as the preceding variety, but having crimson 
leaves and a green margin. 
C. candidum; large leaves, irregularly marked with 
white and green ; a splendid variety. 
C. Raymond Lemoinier; colours carmine-red and 
creamy-white ; very effective. 
C. Max Kolb; a grand variety with deep red spots 
on a light ground. 
C. Comte de Germiny; a dwarf grower, colour red 
and greyish-white ;- very pretty. 
C. Ibis Rose ; foliage is heart-shaped and of a very 
pleasing rose colour. 
C. Belleymei; one of the best taller-growing varie¬ 
ties ; leaves white and green. 
C. Baronne James de Rothschild ; young leaves 
bright rose, changing to a softer shade as they age ; 
veins deep red and very showy. 
