AMERICAN GARDEN-BEAN. 441 



inches in height, with broad, deep green foliage and purplish- 

 whitc flowers ; the pods are five inches and a half long, half 

 an inch broad, green and nearly straight while young, yellow 

 and slender when fully ripe, and contain five or six beans. 



The ripe seeds are dun-colored or dark drab, usually with 

 a greenish line encircling the eye, kidney-shaped, five eighths 

 of an inch long, and about a fourth of an inch thick. A 

 quart contains about seventeen hundred beans, and will plant 

 a row of two hundred and twenty-five feet, or a hundred 

 and seventy-five hills. 



It is one of the earliest of the dwarf varieties. The 

 plants blossomed in six weeks, produced young pods in seven 

 weeks, and ripened in eighty-five days, from the time of 

 sowing. Planted after settled warm weather, pods were 

 gathered for use in six weeks ; and for these the seeds may 

 be sown until the 1st of August. . 



As a shelled-bean, green or dry, it is of little value, and 

 hardly worthy of cultivation. As an early string-bean, it is 

 one of the best. The pods are not only succulent and tender, 

 but suitable for use very early in the season. It is also quite 

 prolific, and, if planted at intervals of two weeks till the 

 last of July, will supply the table to the last of September. 



The variety has long been cultivated in England and other 

 parts of Europe, and is much esteemed for its hardiness and 

 productiveness. 



Plant vigorous; and, if the variety is pure, Dwarf Cran- 

 strictly a Dwarf, growing about sixteen inches 

 high. As generally found in gardens, the plants send out 

 slender runners, eighteen inches or two feet in length. The 

 flowers are pale purple ; the pods are five inches long, 

 sickle-shaped, pale green in their young state, nearly white 

 when ripe, and contain five or six seeds. 



The ripe seeds are smaller than those of the running vari- 



