Cut away the stalk-end, and strip off the strings, then cut them into shreds. If not quite fresh, have a basin of spring water, with a little salt dissolved in it, and as the beans are cleaned and stringed throw them in; put them on the fire in boiling water, with some salt in it; after they have boiled fifteen or twenty minutes, take one out and taste it; as soon as they are tender take them up, throw them into a cullender or sieve to drain. Send up the beans whole when they are very young.