194 



line, truncated or abruptly rounded ends, circular in cross section, pure 

 white. 



Comparispn — A little-known field variety. Said to be valuable in short- 

 season localities because of its earliness. Too tough and stringy for 

 snap purposes and too small seeded for green-shell purposes. Its only 

 value as a field sort lies in its earliness. Most like Yellow Six Weeks, but 

 with darker colored foliage, slightly smaller pods and smaller pure white 

 seeds. Plate IV, fig. ^4; VII, fig. C2; X, fig. i. 



Best of All 



Synonyms. — Sion House, Sion House Forcing, Dwarf Sugar, Breck's 

 String and Shell, Isbell's Earliest, McMillan's Prolific, Shippers' Favorite, 

 Sutton's Dwarf Forcing, Earliest Green Pod. 



History. — Introduced from Germany about 1875 and catalogued by several 

 seedsmen a few years later. Now listed by at least 40 seedsmen. 



Description. — The varietal type of Best of All is not well fixed. There 

 appears to be two extremes with all gradations between them. In some 

 stocks one extreme predominates, in other stocks the other extreme predomi- 

 nates and in others there appears to be an equal proportion of each extreme. 

 In a few instances there appears to be a total elimination of one or the 

 other of these extremes and in some cases the type is fairly well defined. 

 As the more striking difference in these two extremes is in the character of 

 pod, they may be designated as the round-podded type and the fiat-podded 

 type. 



Round-podded type. — Plant strictly dwarf, 10 to 12 inches high, straggly, 

 open, moderately vigorous, hardy, very late, moderately productive. Branches 

 green. Leaflets large, broad, very rough, very dark green. Flowers light 

 pink. Pods large, variable, 6^ to 7 inches long, slender, oval-round, straight, 

 frequently bent backwards, somewhat twisted, short ill-defined point, seven- 

 seeded, medium green, slightly stringy, little fiber, brittle, fine-grained, of 

 fair quality, attractive. Green-shell pods moderately splashed with red. 

 Dry seeds (1.5 x .7 yi .6 cm.) oblong or subreniform, ends rounded, sub- 

 circular in cross section, irregularly marked with red and fawn, either color 

 predominating. Plate I, fig. C2 ; V'll, tig. (-3; X, fig. 2. 



Flat-podded type. — -Plant strictly dwarf, 12 to 16 inches high, slightly 

 spreading, stocky, vigorous, hardy, moderately early, productive. Branches 

 green. Leaflets medium to large, broad, slightly crumpled, rough, dark green. 

 Flowers light pink. Pods large, variable, 5 to 53^ inches long, stout, flat, 

 slightly curved, small ill-defined point, six-seeded, medium green, stringy, 

 tough, coarse-grained, of poor quality, unattractive. Dry seeds (1.5 x .8 x .55 

 cm.) same as the round-podded type except slightly broader and flatter. 

 Plate I, r,-5. 



Comparison. — A well-known variety, but rapidly losing favor because 

 of the mixed condition of the stock. The true round-podded type is a fairly 

 reliable attractive sort for home use or market, but it is not equal to 

 Refugee or Red Valentine in these respects. It is largely used as a green- 

 shell bean, but for this purpose it is not so reliable or generally useful as 

 Byer. The flat-podded type is a degenerated form and is wholly undesirable. 



Black Prince 



Synonym. — French Bean. 



History. — A French variety but grown to some extent in America. 



Description.— Flant strictly dwarf, 12 to 16 inches high, erect, loose, 

 medium in vigor, early, moderately productive. Branches mostly green with 

 purplish flower stems. Leaflets medium in size, narrow, flat, smooth, glossy 

 dark green. Pods medium to large, 4^/2 to 5 inches long,_ slender, oval- 

 rnund in cross section, curved, long curved point, five to six-seeded, very 

 dark green, string}', tough, fleshy, moderately fine-grained, of poor quality, 

 unattractive. Dry seeds (1.6 x .7 x .5 cm.) oblong, usually truncated at one 

 end and gracefully rounded at the other, oval in cross section, shining black. 



