Cnapter 10 



LEGUMES, BERRIES AND SMALL FRUITS 



Somewhat intermediate between the small dry fruits of the 

 cereals and the large fleshy fruits of the familiar orchard crops are 

 the fruits used as vegetables or as occasional table fruits. These 

 include the pod fruits of the legumes or Pea Family, the true 

 berry fruits of the Nightshade and Grape Families, the modified 

 berry fruits of the Saxifrage and Huckleberry Families, the 

 aggregate or accessory fruits of the Rose Family, and the pepo 

 type of fruit of the Gourd Family. 



The Legume Fruits 



The Pea Family, because of the nutritious food stored in the 

 seeds of its pod-like fruit, ranks next in importance to the Grass 

 Family in providing sustenance for practically all the races of 

 mankind. Legumes rank with the cereals in the high protein 

 content of their seeds; and like them, have such a low water con- 

 tent and impervious seed coats that the seeds can be stored for 

 future use. In many countries the legumes take the place of meat 

 in the diet of the poorer classes. The stored food is found in the 

 two large cotyledons of the embryo, which form the elliptical 

 "halves" of a kidney bean or the more hemispherical sections of a 

 pea. 



The member of the family of most ancient cultivated lineage 

 is the BROAD BEAN which was the only bean cultivated in Europe 

 before the time of Columbus. A native of Algeria and southwest- 

 ern Asia, its flat pods and large brown seeds were familiar to 

 inhabitants of the Old World for several thousand years before 

 the time of Christ. Except as a forage crop, it is not grown to any 

 extent in the United States. 



Another ancient genus of legumes is the soy bean (fig. 113) of 

 southeastern Asia of which over a thousand varieties have been 



180 



