PULSE CROPS 

 Beans 



Two distinct species of Beans are commonly grown for 

 garden purposes — the Field or Kidney Bean, Phaseolus 

 vulgaris, and the Lima or Sugar Bean, Phaseolus lunatus. 

 Both are beheved to be natives of tropical America, and 

 the typical forms of both are pole or climbing beans, 

 although dwarf or bush forms of each are largely grown. 



The Field or Kidney Bean serves two important pur- 

 poses. It is largely used both in the condition of the 

 ripened dry seeds and in that of the green seeds or pods. 

 For shell and string beans both climbing and bush varie- 

 ties are grown, the latter being most popular, while for 

 the ripened field beans, only bush varieties are grown. 



The Bush String Beans form one of the most important 

 vegetable crops. They are commonly divided into the 

 Yellow-podded or Wax Beans and the Green-podded 

 Beans. The shape of the pods varies greatly in both 

 colors, but in all good varieties when well grown the pod 

 is thick and meaty and can be easily broken with little 

 or no '^ string" along the inner edge. The seed is com- 

 monly planted either in drills or hills in garden practice, 

 a succession of sowings being made about three weeks 

 apart to produce successive crops. If no pods are 

 allowed to ripen the vines will continue to bear a month 

 or more. Early varieties of string beans are ready for 

 use about seven weeks after planting. 



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