94 THE BOOK OF USEFUL PLANTS 



species, called lunatus, the moon-shaped bean, 

 credited to South America, and named for the 

 city of Lima, the Peruvian capital. It has bush 

 and pole varieties, and some especially delicate 

 dwarf kinds have been derived from the original 

 large-seeded species. 



The scarlet runner is a distinct species, grown 

 chiefly as an ornamental vine, that covers trel- 

 lises and porches with its abundant flower- 

 clustered tendrils, vigorous, bright foliage, and 

 wholesome seeds, that are good to eat, in the 

 green pods or dry. In this country they are 

 rarely used for food. 



We in America do not know the broad bean of 

 Europe and Asia, unless we live in Canada, where 

 this rich vegetable is grown to mix with fodder 

 corn in making ensilage. The whole plant is 

 rich in nitrogen, and it goes into the silo, leaving 

 the roots with their store of nitrogen in the tuber- 

 cles, to fertilize the soil. The dry beans are used 

 in the old countries as cattle food. Usually they 

 are ground into meal and mixed with coarser, less 

 concentrated food. Housewives put down pod 

 beans of different sorts in brine for winter use. 

 The custom is an old one in England, Germany, 

 and the Low Countries. Though a coarse vege- 

 table fare, beans are almost one fourth protein, or 



