494 THE HOME, FARM AND BUSINESS CYCLOPEDIA. 



They are classified by White and Black, and both colours have 

 branched and side varieties. 



RYE (Secale sereale). 



There is but one variety of this hardy cereal, though cultivation has 

 given two Spring and Winter the former being comparatively un- 

 important. 



CORN. INDIAN CORN (Zea maize). 



This, next to Wheat, is by far the most important crop of the American 

 Continent. There is no one of the cereal grains or grasses which 

 manifests itself under such multiplied forms as maize. The kernels are 

 round, long, or flat, and are white, yellow, blue, red, or streaked. 



Nearly all the beef and pork of the vast and fertile West and much 

 in the North and South fed upon it. 



PEASE (Pisum sativum) ; BEANS (Phaseolus vulgaris) ; TARE, or VETCH 

 (Vicia sativa) : are all embraced in the botanical order Leguminosce. 



PEASE. There is a multitude of varieties of the pea. The different 

 kinds are distinguished by varying lengths of haulm, shape of pod, and 

 seed, earliness or lateness, and by their edible qualities. The varieties are 

 also known by their colours grey, brown, speckled, green, and white. 



BEANS. There are three varieties of field, or bush bean, usually culti- 

 vated in the United States and Canada. The small white is most com- 

 monly grown. It is the most prolific, bearing the closest culture, and the 

 best for shipping purposes, being very hard, solid, and keeps longest on sea 

 voyages. The kidney, or long white, is much larger and of better edible 

 quality, requiring a longer time to mature, with a ranker growth ; and the 

 marrow, with a large round kernel, and of equally good edible quality as 

 the kidney, requiring the same time to mature. These two last are usu- 

 ally worth full 25 per cent, more in the market than the small white, on 

 account of their superior excellence for table use 



THE POTATO (Solanum tuberosuni). 



A native of South America, and introduced into England some three 

 hundred years ago. The variety is endless, differing in form from round 

 to oblong, flat and curved, or kidney-shaped, their exterior is rough or 

 polished, and of almost every hue white, yellow, red, and almost black, 

 and the surface is smooth and even, with the eye scarcely discernible, or 

 deeply indented with innumerable sunken eyes. The interior is equally 

 diversified in colour, and is mealy, glutinous or watery, and sometimes 



