14 



various shades of these colours, or variegated. It is usually the 

 white kinds that are used for human food, but certain coloured 

 ones, as, for instance, "Canadian Wonder" are also considered 

 good as " shell beans " in America- -that is when the beans are 

 in a soft, green condition, but large enough to shell. "Boston 



Baked Beans' 5 are prepared from the variety " Navy," with a 

 white seed, much used in baking and for stock food, for which 

 purpose it is grown largely as a field crop in America : the pods 

 are inferior for cooking purposes (Irish); "Golden Cranberry" - 

 is stated by the same author to be universally cultivated. A 

 coloured bean, u Brown Holland " or "Dutch Brown " is grown 

 in Holland in large quantities for food, the ripe seed being used ; 

 it is not suitable for use in the pod. Experiments were made with 

 success in this country at Ivew and at Wis ley in 1916, and the 

 Royal Horticultural Society distributed for cultivation a ton of 

 these beans obtained from Holland in 1917 (Journ. Hoy. Hort. 

 Soc. xlii. 1917, p. 433). Recently some coloured beans, chiefly 

 from Brazil and Chile, have been coming into the market, and 

 from samples submitted to Kew for identification, they are all 

 apparently varieties of vulgaris, intended for feeding to stock. 

 In some cases they have been reported as unwholesome. Although 

 there is no reason so far to suspect the varieties of this species 

 as being poisonous in the same way as those of lunatus, careful 

 experiments should be made in feeding with a new bean, and 

 under no circumstances should a whole ration be given at one 

 time. In reference to recent imports of Brazilian beans for 

 use as cattle food it is reported (Journ. Bd. Agric. seq. p. 124) 

 that in the beans examined (brown in colour and about tne 

 size and shape of a small haricot bean) " there was complete 

 absence of any poison and the analysis showed that the bean<* 

 should prove of good feeding value" and, " 'that the trouhl 

 which has arisen in the use of this bean has been due to the 

 fact that farmers have not boiled, steeped, or soaked the meal 

 previous to feeding." With this proviso the beans are con- 

 sidered excellent for feeding stock. Boiled and mixed with 

 hot mash is recommended, preparatory to feeding poultry, 

 which otherwise refuse to eat the bean. The French Bean 

 is usually grown in this country for the green pod, amongst 





which two well-known varieties are u Canadian "Wonder," 

 above mentioned, and " Ne Plus "Tltr-a." The name "Butter 

 Bean " here refers to yellow-podded varieties, including " Mont 



d'Or," "Golden Wax," "White Algerian/ 9 or "Tall White 



Algerian Butter Wax" (Vilmorin), &e. 



The "Scarlet Runner Bean" (Plimeolus multiftorus, Willd.), 

 is a perennial plant of Mexico, but usually grown as an annual 

 for the green pods only as a vegetable. Suggestions have been 

 made to use the haulms of this plant in hard times for feeding 

 cattle, rabbits, &c, but it may be said, apart from the uncertain 

 value as fodder — though the roots are poisonous — there is no 

 record at hand of the haulm being injurious, the small quantity 

 available before the plants finish bearing, when the dry, bare 

 bines would be poor stuff for feeding, makes it scarcely worthy of 

 consideration. 





