4 BEAN CULTURE 



be divided into the following types : ( I ) The Kidney 

 bean (Phaseolus mdgaris) which comprises all the 

 common, field, garden, snap and string beans, both 

 bush and climbing; the common name in French for 

 this species is haricot. (2) Lima or Sugar beans 

 (Phaseolus lunatus), a native of South America, re- 

 quires a long season and produces large flat seeds. 

 Formerly the plants were tall and climbing, though 

 dwarf forms are now common. (3) The Broad bean 

 (Vicia faba,) often referred to as the bean of history, 

 is an erect growing plant. It is believed to be a 

 native of southwestern Asia. The seeds produced 

 are flat, large and angular. Varieties of this type 

 are grown largely in Europe for feeding animals. 

 They can be grown to full maturity and the beans 

 used as a forage, or ground to a meal. In the latter 

 case the plants are cut a little before full grown. A 

 long season and a cool climate is required for this 

 plant. In Canada, Robertson's mixture is often 

 made by planting these bean plants with corn to be 

 used in the form of silage. (4) Soy or Soja bean 

 (Glycine hispida), used largely for forage, is a native 

 of China and Japan. It is an erect, bushy and hairy 

 plant, produces small pods in clusters and rather 

 small seeds which closely resemble peas. (5) Doli- 

 chos, a genus which differs from Phaseolus in techni- 

 cal characters, includes 40 to 50 species of which only 

 a few forms are in cultivation in the United States. 

 Dolichos japonicus is a fine ornamental vine and 

 Dolichos sesquipedalis produces very long vines upon 

 which are grown slender pods bearing narrow 

 beans. There are numerous other species of this 

 genus none of which are of commercial importance 

 in this country. The Scarlet Runner (Phaseolus 



