Teachers' Leaflet. 509 



LESSON LXXIL 



SOME COMMON BEAN DISEASES. 



Purpose. — To teach the children how to select seed beans, which 

 are healthy. 



Perhaps some of the pods and the seeds within them are spotted 

 with dark brown or black blotches ; this is anthracnose or pod-spot, 

 although it occurs on leaves and stems as well. This is caused by a 

 fungus, which lives upon the substance of the bean. Beans from spotted 

 pods should never be planted, for although they may grow, they will 

 carry the disease with them to the next generation. Bean-blight is 

 another very bad disease, which ruins whole crops ; it is also a fungus, 

 but does not appear as a well defined spot, but looks like a spreading 

 stain that appears blister-like when wet ; it is very infectious and all 

 vines thus diseased should be pulled and burned. Beanrust is another 

 fungus which grows upon the leaf but is not so serious as the other two. 

 Early and frequent spraying with fungicides is the preventive of all three. 

 See Cornell and other bulletins on spraying. 



NOTES ON BEANS. 



The bean is one of the earliest food plants used by man. and in Asiatic and 

 European .countries is still much more of a food staple than in the United States. 

 The bean contains more nutriment than any other seed used as food, not except- 

 ing wheat and corn. Beans are the main dependence of the armies of the world, 

 as they are the most easily transported and the most economical of foods. New 

 York State leads in the production of beans, putting about two million bushels on 

 the market yearly, though Michigan and northern California are close rivals. 



VARIETIES OF BEANS. 



The bush beans include all those grown as field beans for the purpose of the 

 harvest of dry shelled seed. They also include the green podded and yellow 

 podded string or wax beans; these are usually grown in truck gardens and very 

 seldom for the shelled seed. The broad bean (Vicia faba) is the bean of history. 

 It is a native of southwestern Asia and has been used for food for man and beast 

 for untold ages. It is a large, erect-growing plant, bearing large, flat, roundish 

 or angular seeds ; these beans are often ground into a meal. This variety needs a 

 cool climate and a long season, and is not much grown in the United States. In 

 connection with this, ask the pupils to look in the Bible dictionary for pitlxc. The 

 largest of the beans is the Lim^, a native of South America : it must have a rich, 

 warm soil, and good support and careful cultivation. The Dutch runner also has 

 large seeds and resembles the Lima in growth. The Scarlet runner, the Hyacinth 

 and the yard-long kinds arc all pb'nled in this country for ornament; in other 

 countries they are used as food. The .Soy or Soji is a short, erect, bushy, hairy 

 plant, bearing small pods in clusters, which contain little pea-like seeds. It is a 

 native of China and Jap-'n where it is much used for food, but there it is used 



