THE GARDENING WORLD 
329 
Black Snake Root '“f , 8 
May 16, 1908. 
. The Culture of . 
Kidney Beans. 
This is a vegetable sadly neglected in 
many gardens, especially by the amateur. 
Few summer vegetables are more economi¬ 
cal, as this Bean produces a wonderful 
bulk of pods on a very small space. 
To have this vegetable in perfection 
the ground must be deeply dug and 
heavily manured, for unless this is done 
the plants soon fall a prey to red spider. 
Where labour is abundant the'first sow¬ 
ing should be made about mid-April, in 
pots, and these, after being properly 
hardened off, should be planted out after 
the middle of May. 
For outside sowing the beginning of 
May is early enough to make a start. For 
succession sow every three weeks till the 
end of June. Choose a sunny border, and 
sow in drills 3 ins. deep and 18 ins. apart. 
To ensure an even crop plant the seeds 
2 ins. apart, and afterwards thin out to 
6 or 8 ins. To some this may seem a 
waste of seed, but experience has shown 
me that Kidney Bean seed does not al¬ 
ways germinate well, and if the seeds are 
planted wide there are often blanks to 
deplore. 
Nothing more in the way of cultivat’on 
is required except the occasional stirring 
of the soil with the Dutch hoe. Pick all 
pods as soon as ready for use, and the 
plants will bear much longer. 
Good varieties are Ne plus Ultra, 
Canadian Wonder and Sutton’s Everbear¬ 
ing. C. Blair. 
-- 
SELF LEONARD’S 
Water five ns. 
The late owner and originator of the 
Guildford Hardy Plant Nursery was suc¬ 
cessful in growing and in introducing to 
greater notice a very large number of 
hardy perennials and alpines. In fact, it 
is not too much to say that the Surrey 
town is known to the gardening com¬ 
munity chiefly as the home of the hardy 
plant nursery referred to above. The 
writer has on several occasions visited 
“Millmead” during the late Mr. Self Leo¬ 
nard’s residence there, and remembers 
seeing a small batch of the Geum, which 
is the subject of this note. The native 
form of Geum rivale is, itself, a very 
charming plant, particularly when seen 
growing in its native habit. It is not 
clear why the species is named “Water 
Avens” since it .is not so common by 
watersides as in woodlands. The writer 
has found it growing in abundance in 
woods, together with Lily of the Valley 
and Trollius europaeus, or “ Boits.” In 
“Leonard’s variety” the orange and 
cherry red tints are brought out more 
clearly, and there is less purple in the 
nodding flowers. It would be idle to at¬ 
tempt a description of the numerous lovely 
shades of colour. Some of the most de¬ 
licate tints seen in the flowers of the 
Japanese Quince are reproduced. 
Such a recommendation, combined with 
the fact that it is practically impossible 
to kill the plant with fair treatment, 
should secure for this fine border plant a 
large number of admirers. ERICA. 
Several species of Cimicifuga are in 
cultivation, but the most popular and best 
for garden purposes are the subject of this 
note, which blooms during the summer, 
and C. simplex, which blooms in autumn. 
Both are perennials. 
C. racemosa usually grows 3 ft. to 5 ft. 
high, but under ordinary treatment would 
usually be about the former height, and 
then proves both useful and stately as a 
border plant. The individual flowers are 
very small but produced in large num- 1 
bers in long racemes, and when in full 
bloom the effect is striking from a con¬ 
siderable distance. The petals are really 
very small, but the numerous stamens are 
long and are responsible for the effective 
appearance of rhe plant. It belongs to 
the Crowfoot family, but is entirely unlike 
most plants with w'hich we are familiar, 
unless we compare them to the Thalic- 
trums. 
They may be raised from seed, but as 
a rule in private establishments a suffi¬ 
cient number are obtainable by division 
of the rootstock. In some cases it is ne¬ 
cessary ro lift the whole piece in order to 
take off small crowns for the making of 
young plants, but as they do not like 
disturbance at the root a better plan is 
to remove some of the soil from one side, 
after which it may be possible to separate 
some of the younger crowns by means of 
a knife, thus leaving the old plant un¬ 
disturbed. It is a long lived plant, and 
when once it has been established in a 
garden it may last a lifetime. Only in 
the case of retrenching a herbaceous bor¬ 
der would it be necessary to lift these 
plants. 
-- 
A charming way to grow Nasturtiums, 
says a writer in “Truth,” is to sow seeds 
at the base of a hedge and to let the plants 
grow up through the hedge, though not 
in sufficient numbers to injure it. 
Kew Guild Dinner. 
We are requested to remind our readers 
who are old Kewites that the annual 
dinner will take place at the Holborn 
Restaurant on the 25th inst., at 7.30 p.m., 
and that the Secretary, W. N. Winn, 
would be glad to hear before the 18th 
from all who intend to be present. 
Cimicifuga racemosa. Maclaren and Sons. 
