1 DECEMBER 1944, Page 14

In the Garden A garden theorist urges me to treat

scarlet runner beans as perennials! They are, of course, very deep-rooted, penetrate perhaps deeper than any other vegetable, and when well protected will survive the winter. It is perhaps worth while making the experiment with a few roots. Few gardeners, I think, indulge freely enough in protective coverings. For example, in war-time, when it is difficult to procure sand, it is much easier and not necessarily less satisfactory to keep beetroot (and perhaps even carrots) in the ground than to store them ; but they must be well protected. Cloches are little good unless they are quite continuous and blocked at the ends. The best of protective coverings is bracken, which

does not condense into a pasty mess. W. BEACH THOMAS.