468 LEGUMINOUS PLANTS. 



with a custom, much too prevalent, of applying the term to 

 whatever fruits, flowers, or vegetables may have been origi- 

 nally received from the State of California. 



Case-knife. This variety, common to almost every garden, 

 is readily distinguished by its strong and tall habit of growth, 

 and its broad, deep green, blistered leaves. The flowers are 

 white ; the pods are remarkably large, and often measure 

 nine or ten inches in length, and nearly an inch in width ; 

 they are of a green color till near maturity, when they 

 change to yellowish-green, and, when fully ripe, to cream- 

 white. A well-formed pod contains eight or nine seeds. 



Early plantings blossomed in seven or eight weeks, yielded 

 pods for stringing in about ten weeks, green beans in twelve 

 or thirteen weeks, and ripened in a hundred and five days. 

 Later plantings, with the exclusive advantage of summer 

 weather, yielded green pods in seven weeks, pods for shell- 

 ing in eight or nine weeks, and ripened in ninety-six days. 

 Plantings for the green beans may be made till nearly the 

 middle of July, and for the young pods to the 25th of the 

 month. 



The ripe seeds are clear white, kidney-shaped, irregularly 

 flattened or compressed, often diagonally shortened at one or 

 both of the ends, three fourths of an inch long, and three 

 eighths of an inch deep. A quart contains about fifteen 

 hundred seeds, and will plant a hundred and seventy-five 

 hills. 



It is one of the most prolific of the running varieties. As 

 a shelled-bean, it is of excellent quality in its green state, 

 and when ripe, farinaceous, and well flavored in' whatever 

 form prepared. The large pods, if plucked early, are 

 succulent and tender, but coarser in texture than those of 

 many other sorts, and not so well flavored. 



The Case-knife, in its habit and general appearance, much 



