The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-01-21
Best Way to Plant Beans.

The easiest way to put the beans In the
ground is with a hand planter. several cheap
varieties of which are on the market. Any
of these can be set so as TO deposit three
or four seeds at time. In n small garden
the droppcr should be Inserted at Six inch
Intervals and the plants thinned to two In
n place as soon MS the second leaves appear.
On larger plat. II thinning out is not deemed
desirable. the distance apart should be
doubled.
Most varieties OF beans must force the
whole seed through the ground In order to
form the initial pair of leaves. SO deep plant
Ing is injud!cious. three inches on properly
compacted soil is quite sufficient. Treated
In this fashion a bed of beans will soon be-
come compact mass of foliage, from which
1t only will be necessary to pluck out any
large weeds which may develop, leaving the
task for dry sunshiny day.
When 1t comes to gathering beans for any
purpose 1t Is waste OF time to pick individual
pods IL varieties which mature evenly have
been sovn. The best way is to tear up suffl-
cient of the row to furnish the requisite sup
ply and pick off the pods at your leisure.
When this is done prior to August the de-
pleted row should be replanted Immediately
with some quickly maturing sort.
Great Range of Varieties.
AS to the different varieties of dwarf beans,
the botanical name of which Is Phaseolus
vulgaris, they are innumerable, but most of
them are by no means as desirable as seeds
mems catalogues would lead one TO believe.
There are several essential qualities bean
must possess besides the main desideratum
of prolific yielder. From the housewives
standpoint 1t must furnish stringless and
zl.z ~. 4.
and the beans must be easy to shell II they
are to be used when fully formed. These are
attributes hard to combine In a single va
rlety. Wardell's wax comes as near filing
the requirements as any have tried. ~
is comely bean of kidney shape. Its color
pure white with the exception OF purple
eye 1t natures early and Its long pods are
tender, but unfortunately there are few on
stalk Still think 1t preferable to either
the green or golden Valentine, as both are
hard to shell when dry, but Valentines come
to hand so quickly that few should be
planted by those who desire green beans
early, while they are probably the best sort
for second sowings. The dwarf horticulture
al or wrens' egg. also has some good quail
ties. as the pods when young are tender ana
attractive. while the ripe beans are prettily
marked, resembling. as their name denotes,
"
tendency to droop, however, or In a wet sea-
son much OF the crop is liable to damage
and in any case these beans are hard to shell
when dry.
Though the above mentioned sorts are good
In their place, nothing for main crop to
be used when shelled, either green or dry.
can equal the golden drop, anYimproved va
riety of the yellow Swedish. This bean ma
lures slowly and one OF Its most val able at
tributes Is thatth leaves remain green; ana
the plants maintain their vigor until the
seed is fully ripe. so the pods are always
carried we'll Off the ground. In consequence
few dlscolore1 beans are produced. SO mere
~ thrashing will yieldIas clean a sample as
can be handpicked from almost any other
variety. When they attain their full Size.
which is satisfactorily large. the golden
drops are cream white with the exception
of a small violet eye, AS they ripen they.
turn, rich golden yellow and when dry
present an attractive appearance. The pods
being tough and smooth they shell easily at
any stage Of their growth, an advantage
which more than counterbalances the draw
back of their being stringy when green,
The shelled beans. either green or dry. have