THE AAIERICAN BOTANIST 11 



furniture made to order. Beans are prolific in yield so the 

 problem is only to increase consumption by producing more 

 palatable and attractive varieties. "Henderson and Kumerle 

 Dwarf Limas were introduced in 1889, Burpee in 1890, and 

 Barteldes in 1892 or 1893.... and Burpee Bush Lima was 

 presented to the public in the spring of 1890." Henry Schnell 

 of Missouri grew a Tree Bean w^hich he describes as growing 

 "2^ feet high, and was really a small tree. It was very pro- 

 ductive and matured early." 



Bean-breeders have discovered a number of things that 

 may be helpful to men who grow their own seed. For ex- 

 ample, beans with fleshy pods succeed best on rich clay soils. 

 The kidney wax on rich black soil. Soil and climate modify 

 the character as to size and smoothness of leaves and fleshiness 

 of pods. The breeders find that better seed beans are grown 

 by light seeding. The plants are sensitive to excessive mois- 

 ture or drought. Lima and pole beans seed well, grown along 

 the California coast. 



By the method of V^ilmorin it is well known that plant- 

 breeders have increased the sugar content of beets by continual 

 selection. Also, varieties have been developed which mature 

 in two months, instead of five. This makes increased produc- 

 tion possible in the number of crops per season. 

 Tracey points out that purer strains of stock of proved 

 value should be raised. By a trial planting it was found that 

 "practically every root grown from 2-rod plantings of each of 

 214 samples of seed purchased under distinct varietal names 

 from the most reputable seedsmen of America and Europe 

 could be grouped into not over twenty distinct forms, and the 

 roots so thrown together show as little variation as the crop 

 from any one of the twenty most uniform samples in the trial. 

 Often the only difference between two lots sold under dif- 



