834 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 May, 1899. 
Good varieties to grow here are McLean’s Little Gem, Stratagem, York- 
shire Hero, American Wonder, Pride of the Market, and Sir Henry Atkinson. 
___ None of these are very tall-growing kinds, and they can be grown without 
staking or trellising; but it may as well be borne in mind that even the dwarf 
varieties (with the exception of the very small ones) will yield better crops, 
and be much easier to pick, if trellised than if left on the ground unsupported. 
BEANS. 
Beans for gardening purposes comprise French or kidney beans, pole 
beans of various kinds, broad beans, and Lima beans. ; 
All these are annuals except the Limas, which are perennials where the 
winter is not too cold, although in the Southern part of the colony they may 
for all practical purposes be considered as annuals. French or kidney beans 
(Phaseolus vulgaris) can be grown nearly all the year round in many parts of 
Queensland, but where winter frosts prevail the season may be reckoned from 
the middle or end of August until April or May. During these months, 
successive sowings may be made at intervals of two or three weeks when the 
ground is not too dry. Any good garden soil will grow French beans, but 
the best crops are obtained from good loams or alluvial soils. , 
The drills should be a few inches deep, the depth varying from 2 to 4 
inches according to the weather and the state of the soil. 
The rows should be about 8 feet apart, and the seeds at least 6 inches 
apart in the rows, 
If the soil is very dry, the drill should be watered well before sowing, - 
The beans should be gathered as they become fit—that is, while young 
and tender; and unless it is desired to save some for seed they should not be 
allowed to ripen, as thereby the bearing power of the plants will be considerably 
lessened. 
Pole or runner beans are summer plants, and may be sown from September 
to February or March. The rows for these should be 4 or 5 feet apart, and 
before planting poles about 6 fect long should be set up along the rows at a 
distance of 3 or 4 feet apart. Around each pole plant 6 or 8 seeds 2 inches 
deep, and when they come up thin them out, leaving 4 of the strongest plants 
to each pole. It may sometimes be necessary to tie the young tendrils to the 
poles at first, but as soon as they begin to run they will twine around the 
sticks naturally without any artificial help. 
Broad beans do not succeed well in the hot weather, their season being 
from March to August or September. Sow in drills 3 or 4 feet apart, 8 inches 
or so deep, and the beans about 9 inches apart in the rows. 
When the plants come into flower, their tops should be pinched off in 
order to check the upward growth of the plants and cause the beans to set. Tf 
this pinching is neglected, in all probability the plants will continue to grow, 
most of the flowers will drop off, and there will be little or no crop. The 
beans should be gathered as they become fit, whether they are wanted or not, 
so as to prolong the bearing season as much as possible. 
Lima beans are a good crop to grow in the summer months, as they wil] 
stand any amount of heat and dry weather, and continue in bearing for a ver 
long time. The Dwarf or Bush Limas are perhaps the best to grow, as the 
. require no poles, and consequently give less trouble. Lima beans, both dwarf 
and pole varieties, may be planted in August or September and again in 
November, and will continue to grow and bear until cut down by the frosts in 
winter. Dwarf Limas may be planted in drills 3 feet apart, and the seeds 18. 
inches apart in the rows or in hills of 4.or 5 seeds 8 feet apart each 
way. ‘The seeds should not be planted more than 2 inches deep, and should be 
placed in the ground edgewise with the eyes down. 
The pole Limas require precisely the same treatment as other pole 
beans. It is hardly necessary to state that the French beans and most of the 
pole beans are pod beans, of which the edible part is the young tender seed- 
pod. Broad and Lima beans, on the other hand, are shell beans—the part 
used for food being the bean itself, and not the pod. 
