20 
AMERICAN KITCHEN GARDENER. 
beans , as iJ ey are commonly called in this country:—The runner kidney 
beans maj be sown in a small portion towards the end of April, [about the 
middle of May in New England,] if tolerably warm, dry weather; but 
as these beans are rather more tender than the dwarf sorts, more liable to 
rot in the gro^d by wet and cold, especially the scarlets, the beginning or 
middle of Mk) [first of June in New England] will be time enough to sow 
a considerable irop; and you may sow a full crop about the beginning of 
June. Allot principally the scarlet and large white runners. Some Dutch 
runners are very eligible as a secondary crop. The first crops should have 
the assistance of a south wall. Intermediate crops may be sown in any 
open compartment, or against any fence not looking north. The latest sown 
will continue bearing longer under a good aspect and shelter. In sowing, 
draw drills about an inch and a half, or not more than tw’o inches deep. 
Let parallel rows be at least four feet asunder, to admit in the intervals tall 
sticks or poles for the plants to climb on. Place the beans in the drills, 
four inches apart, and earth them in evenly the depth of the drills. A 
row contiguous to a fence or building may ascend upon lines. Some may 
be sown in a single row along a border, or on each side of a walk, and have 
the support of a slight trellis of laths and lines ; or they might be arched over 
with similar materials to form a shady walk or bower. In a cold, wet sea¬ 
son, or when requisite to have a few plants more forward than the general 
crop, some scarlets may be sown in April, either in a slight hot-bed, or in 
pots, under frames of hand glass, to raise and forward the plants, till two or 
three inches high : then, at the end of May, transplant them into the open 
garden. As the plants come up, and advance from three to six inches in 
growth, hoe some earth to the stems, cutting down all weeds. When they 
begin to send forth runners, place suitable supports to each row ; and con¬ 
duct the tendrils to the sticks or lines, turning them in a contrary direction 
to the sun. The ascending plants will soon come into flower, podding at 
the joints, in long succession. They are so prolific, that the returns from 
three sowings, in May, June and July, will last from July till October. 
Taking the Crop .—Gather the pods, both from dwarfs and runners, while 
they are young, fleshy, brittle and tender, for then they are in the highest 
perfection for the table ; and the plants will beai more fully, and last longer 
in fruit, under a course of clean gathering. 
To save seed .—Either sow a portion for that object, or leave rows 
wholly ungathered, of the main crop, or preserve a sufficiency of good pods 
promiscuously. The beans saved should be the first fruits of a crop, sown 
at a period which throws the entire course of growth into the finest part of 
rammer. Let them hang on the stalks till they ripen fully, in August and 
September; then let the haulm be pulled up and placed in the sun, to dry 
and harden the seed, m hich should be afterwards cleared out of the husks, 
baggeJ up and housed. 
