eight; leaves comparatively long and narrow,
smooth and shining; flowers small, greenish-yellow, in spikes; the pods
are four inches and a half long, an inch and a quarter broad, much
flattened, green and wrinkled while young, yellowish when ripe, and
contain three or four beans.

The Lima is one of the latest, as well as one of the most tender, of all
garden-beans; and seldom, if ever, entirely perfects its crop in the
Northern States. Little will be gained by very early planting; as the
seeds are not only liable to decay before vegetating, but the plants
suffer greatly from cold, damp weather. In the Northern and Eastern
States, the seeds should not be planted in the open ground before the
beginning of May; nor should the planting be delayed beyond the tenth or
middle of the month. In ordinary seasons, the Lima Bean will blossom in
eight or nine weeks, and pods may be plucked for use the last of August,
or beginning of September. Only a small proportion of the pods attain a
sufficient size for use; a large part of the crop being prematurely
destroyed by frost.

The ripe seeds are dull-white or greenish-white, with veins radiating
from the eye; broad, kidney-shaped, much flattened, seven-eighths of an
inch long, and two-thirds of an inch broad. A quart contains about seven
hundred seeds, and will plant eighty hills.

The pods are tough and parchment-like in all stages of their growth, and
are never eaten. The seeds, green or ripe, are universally esteemed for
their peculiar flavor and excellence; and, by most persons, are
considered the finest of all the garden varieties. If gathered when
suitable for use in their green state, and dried in the pods in a cool
and shaded situation, they may be preserved during the winter. When
required for use, they are shelled, soaked a short time in clear water,
and cooked as green beans: thus treated, they will be nearly as tender
and well flavored as when freshly plucked from the plants.

The seeds are sometimes started on a hot-bed, in thumb-pots, or on
inverted turf, or sods, cut in convenient pieces; and about the last of
May, if the weather is warm and pleasant, transplanted to hills in the
open ground.

By the following method, an early and abundant crop may be obtained in
comparatively favorable seasons:--

"As soon in spring as the weather is settled, and the soil warm and in
good working condition, set poles about six feet in length, three feet
apart each way, and plan