THE GARDEN.

Marlborough Express, Volume L, Issue 62, 14 March 1916, Page 6

THE GARDEN.

HORTICULTURAL NOVELTIES

[Specially Written for The Express.]

This year several novelties of the vegetable kingdom have been grown in Maryborough, and a few days ago a representative of this jouroial wias permitted to inspect those growing at and near Rowley. The yardrlong bean, which has been brought from Japan, proved a, very .slow grower ( for soirte time," but during the last month or so has reversed the order, and now bids fair to rival those planted by Jack the Giant-killer. In some plots the plants have attained a great height; and! the flowers (which resemble those of a, sweet pea) die off in a few hours and the heans form and grow at an astonishingly rapid rate. It is a- round bean, absolutely stringless, and ol various .shades of green. It seems, to be a prodigious bearer, and should provo a valuable addition to our edible podded beans when properly acclimatised. N

In> bush marrows that known «s the custard marrow seems to be the favorite, and there are three distinct colors in the fruit—white, yellow, and green—all of excellent flavor ana ornamental appearance. At Mr H. Oheesman's place he has one bean plant which has a leaf something after the melon shape, with a flower resembling a poppy, and a fruit at present fully 25 inches, long and about 12 inches in diameter. It looks like a smooth cumumber. It is an edible bean, and one should be enough for the family dinner. In the same plot is a. new variety of melon, .similar to ths rock in appearance, but with flesh that has all the appearance- and taste of honey.

There are also some new American squash plants, pimply loaded with fruit, all of a large and even size, dark green in the skin and! deep salmon in the flesh. The seeds of these are contained in the extreme end of the fruit, the remainder being solid flesh.

Mr Checsman has an exhibition

crop of onions, which are now drying^ on the ground where they wem grown, and it is no exaggeration to say that none of tho suriaee soil is visible. The yield is estimated to bo over 20 tons to the acre, and this is a dry season. In broad beans one of the .settlers has a new variety, which is supposed* to be edible podded, but the grower says lie does not care for the cooked pods. However, as an ordinary broad bean it would be difficult to* beat, for each seed sends up from fiver to seven stalks, and lie boons form right from tho ground to the top. Tho yield from these beans is something phenomenal. It has been named -'Rhodes's Prolific."