PULSE OR LEGUMINOUS SEEDS. 147 



HARICOT-BEANS. 



Phaseolus vulgar is, L. 

 Hind. Bakla, Loba. 



A well-known annual, having sub-erect or twining stems 6 to 

 10 feet long, and pods 4 to 6 inches long, with 4 to 6 seeds. 

 Many cultivated forms of this plant have been described. 



The ripe seeds of many varieties of this species are known 

 in Europe as haricot-beans. The unripe pods are largely used 

 as a green vegetable under the names of French beans and 

 kidney-beans. Amongst the very numerous varieties of haricots 

 cultivated in Europe as a green vegetable, one of the best is the 

 Haricot Beurre of the French. The pods of the scarlet-runner 

 (P/i. multiflorus), or Haricots d'Espagne, are similar, but the ripe 

 seeds are often unwholesome. 



COMPOSITION OF HARICOT-BEANS. 



The nutrient-ratio is i : 2-5, and the nutrient-value 75. 



Besides the species of Phaseolus here described or men- 

 tioned three others are cultivated in India, namely : Ph. 

 calcaratus, Ph. semi-erectus, and Ph. lunatus. The first of 

 these is commonly cultivated in the tropical zone ; it has a 

 narrow, recurved, 8 to i2-seeded pod. Ph. semi-erectus has a 

 longer and still narrower pod with many seeds ; it is spread 

 through the Western Peninsula and Ceylon. The third of these 

 species, Ph. lunatus, is a very different kind of bean ; a brief 

 account of it will be found on page 155. 



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