288 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
April 25, 1908. 
Broad Beans and their Gulture. 
Although Broad Beans (Faba vulgaris) 
will grow and thrive in almost any situ¬ 
ation and properly worked soil, a fairly' 
rich, well-manured loam of a rather 
heavy nature is the best and most suit¬ 
able for the production of heavy crops 
and large, well-filled pods. In light soils 
the seed must be sown early', as plants 
from seed sown late in the season in such 
soils are■very liable to be attacked by 
black fly or Bean blight, which invariably 
spoils the crop. Where successional sup¬ 
plies of this vegetable are required, seed 
must be sown at intervals of about three 
weeks from early February to the end of 
March, that portion of the garden where 
the soil is the heaviest being reserved for 
the late sown seed. 
The seed should be sown in drills in 
double rows, the drills for early varieties 
being placed two feet apart and for the 
later sorts two feet six inches apart. The 
drills should be about three inches deep, 
and each seed be placed separately in 
position, chequerwise and four inches 
apart, as shown in Fig. 1 of the accom¬ 
panying sketches, and never be sown 
broadcast or too thickly', as shown in 
Fig. 2. When the young plants have 
grown to a height of six or seven inches 
the hoe should be brought into use, and 
some soil drawn up to the stems to sup¬ 
port them, and if the situation is very 
open and exposed, stakes should be driven 
into the ground about six feet apart and 
a line of cord fixed up each side of each 
row eighteen inches from the ground, to 
support the plants and prevent damage 
or breakage by the wind. 
As soon as the flowers are set and the 
embryo pods formed, the tops of the 
plants should be pinched off, as, not only 
does this assist the pods in swelling, but 
it also acts as a preventative against at¬ 
tacks of black fly, also known as Bean 
blight and dolphin • fly, this pest fre¬ 
quently being very troublesome. The 
blight makes its appearance at the top of 
the plants and works its way downwards, 
as shown in Fig. 3, and if not checked 
Broad Beans. 
1, The right way to sow the seed; 2, the wrong way; 3, a troublesome -pest—black fly 
or Bean blight; 4, the male fly (magnified); 5, the -female fly (magnified). 
at an early stage the crop is often com¬ 
pletely ruined. Infested tops of the 
plants should be burnt or otherwise de¬ 
stroyed. A useful remedy for black fly is 
to dip the tops of the plants in soft soap 
solution made by dissolving two ounces of 
soft soap in a gallon of hot water, the 
mixture being allowed to cool before be¬ 
ing used. 
ORTUS. 
-- 
Justice’s Shop Sign. 
Mr. Henry Rumsey, a seed merchant 
of Great Dunmow, who has been created 
a justice of the peace for Essex, has had 
the description of his calling over his 
shop painted out, and the following in¬ 
scription in bold letters substituted : “ He 
that cannot forgive others breaks the 
bridge over which he himself must pass, 
for every man hath need to be forgiven. 
—Lord Herbert.” 
The Apple. 
The antiquity of the Apple is greater 
than would be imagined by many. It' is 
spoken of by Homer as having existed in 
the gardens of Alcinous and of Laertes, 
and was a favourite fruit among the Ro¬ 
mans, who fully appreciated its dietetic 
properties. In its wild state it is the com¬ 
mon Crab-apple found in hedges, and we 
have no certain means of ascertaining at 
what period it was first cultivated and 
began to acquire the sweetness which is 
so characteristic in its domesticated state. 
A Hyacinth Which Hinders Navigation. 
Many photographs have been pub¬ 
lished, says the “Morning Post,” to show 
the spread of the pretty water Hyacinth, 
the Pontederia crassipes, which some en¬ 
thusiast, who is content to remain in ob¬ 
scurity, imported from South America 
into Florida some years ago. The plant 
has so taken possession of the waterways 
of Texas, Louisiana and Florida as 
seriously to impede navigation. A search 
is being made for some natural enemy of 
the flower. A parasitic fungoid growth is. 
known to exist which attacks the Hya¬ 
cinth leaves from below, forming concen¬ 
tric circles and at last killing them. It 
is at present the subject of investigation. 
Higher Education in Essex. 
The report and handbook of the Essex 
Education Committee for 1907 is now on 
our table, and shows how useful it may be 
to students on any subject in different 
parts of that county. The Central 
Laboratories are, of course, at Chelms¬ 
ford, and there agriculture, chemistry, 
biology, horticulture, dairy schools, in¬ 
struction on poultry keeping are to be 
found, while the garden attached to the 
School of Horticulture is in charge of 
two gardeners. During the y'ear three 
courses of instruction of three weeks 
duration and one course of four weeks 
are given on the science and practice of 
horticulture, including, of course, the in¬ 
struction relating to fruit, vegetables anci 
flowers. These four courses are made to 
extend over a year, while an examinatior 
is held at the end of the fourth course. 
The students are also expected to si 
for the examination of the R.H.S. Al¬ 
ready a large number of persons art 1 
qualified to take classes for local commit¬ 
tees in the county through the exertion; 
of the central authority at Chelmsford. 
