AMERICAN GARDEX-BEAN. 471 



The Horticultural Bean was introduced into this country 

 from England about the year 1825. It has now become very 

 generally disseminated, and is one of the most popular of the 

 running sorts. As a string-bean, it is of good quality ; 

 shelled in its green state, remarkably farinaceous and well 

 flavored, and, when ripe, one of the best for baking or stew- 

 ing. It is hardy and productive, but is liable to deteriorate 

 when raised many years in succession from seed saved in 

 the vegetable garden from the scattered pods accidentally 

 left to ripen on the poles. To raise good seed, leave each 

 year a few hills unplucked, allowing the entire product to 

 ripen. 



Stem six or seven feet high, with large, broad Indian Chief, 

 foliage and purple flowers ; the pods are five Bv ^ER^ y ' 



! i , 1 1 I'll D'ALOER. OF THK 



inches long, nearly as thick as broad, sickle- FUKKCU. 

 shaped, green at first, but soon change to a fine, waxen, semi- 

 transparent cream-white, the line marking the divisions 

 being orange-yellow. At this stage of growth, the color 

 indicates approaching maturity ; but the pods will be found 

 crisp and succulent, and are in their greatest perfection for 

 the table. When ripe, they are nearly white, much shrivelled, 

 and contain six or seven seeds. 



When cultivated for the ripened product, the seed should 

 be planted as early in the season as the weather will permit. 

 The plants will then blossom in eight or nine weeks, afford 

 young pods in about eleven weeks, pods for shelling in 

 thirteen or fourteen weeks, and ripen in a hundred and 

 twenty-four days. Plantings for green pods may be made 

 until the first of July. 



At the time of harvesting, the seeds are deep indigo-blue, 

 the hilum being white. They are oblong, often shortened 

 abruptly at the ends, half an inch long, nearly the same in 

 depth, and three tenths of an inch thick. Fourteen hundred 



