Scarlet Runner. One of the pole or running beans (Phaseolus multiflorus). It is a great favorite with people from the Old World, especially English and Germans. This bean is used either as an ornamental vine for porches or trellises, or as a screen to hide unsightly objects. The red flowers are very showy, either on the plant or in bouquets. The green pods are excellent as string beans, and the dried beans are of superior quality. Seed should not be sown until the ground has become thoroughly warm; or the plants may be started in the house.
Scraping of trees is rarely to be advised, except in fruit plantations. The old and hanging bark on apple and pear trees may be taken off in order to destroy the hiding places of insects and the breeding places of fungi, and also to make the plantation look more neat and kempt. Only the loose outer bark should be removed, however. Trees should not be scraped to the quick. If there is moss on trees, it can be destroyed readily by a spray of Bordeaux mixture.
A large part of the beauty of an ornamental tree lies in its characteristic bark, and it is very rare that such trees should be scraped.
Screens. [See Windbreak.]
Screw Pine. [See Pandanus.]
Sea-Kale shoots are very highly prized as a delicacy when blanched. The seed should be sown in a hotbed early in the spring, plants transplanted to the garden when from 2 to 3 inches high, and given high cultivation through the season, being covered with litter on the approach of winter. The young stalks are blanched early the following spring by covering with large pots or boxes, or by banking with sand or other clean material. The Dwarf Green Scotch, Dwarf Brown, and Siberian are among the leading varieties. Sea-kale is eaten much as asparagus is. Highly prized by those who know it.
Sea-Kale is also propagated by cuttings of the roots 4 or 5 inches long, planted directly in the soil in spring. The plant is perennial, and the early shoots may be bleached year after year.
Seed Sowing. The general rule in sowing seeds is to cover them twice or three times their thickness. This rule will apply to the majority of seeds, but in many plants of a naturally short season of bloom or growth, an instance of which is the sweet pea, it may be advisable to sow the seed deeper, that the roots may have sufficient moisture and be in a cool temperature through the hot summer months. Also, in sowing very minute seed, as tobacco, petunia, begonia, and others of like size, care should be taken to have them only under the surface of the soil,—simply pressed down with a smooth surface or allowed to settle into the soil with the soaking in of the water. The soil for all seeds should be loose and porous, in order to allow the excessive moisture to escape and the warmth to penetrate, but should be firmed directly over the seeds to induce an upward flow of moisture. One of the most common mistakes in sowing seed is in sowing all kinds at the same time without regard to the season, thus causing a failure with some, while others grow freely. All tender seed should be sown only when the ground has become thoroughly warm, while seeds of the so-called hardy plants may be sown as early in the spring as the ground is fit to work. A few kinds of seed are the better for soaking, especially such as for some reason have been delayed in sowing. Sweet pea seed is benefited by soaking if not put into the ground until the soil is warm. Seed of canna, moonflower and others with hard shells may be scraped until the outer shell is pierced or is very thin.
It is generally better to buy garden seeds than to grow them, for those who make a business of seed-growing become expert in the cultivation and selection of the plants.
Seeds of most plants should be kept dry and also rather cool. It is always better to rely upon fresh seeds. Test them in boxes in the house, if possible, before planting them in the open. If beans, peas, corn or other Seeds become buggy, pour a little bisulfide of carbon (very inflammable) into them. The material will not injure the Seeds even if poured on them. It soon evaporates. A teaspoonful will kill the insects in four quarts of Seeds, if the receptacle is tight.