VICIA FABA (bean) 



201 



In suital)le climates this shrub may live for several years,, 

 and has this advantage over the wild indigo {Tephrosia 

 Candida) used in rotations, in Mauritius, that its foliage is 

 thicker and more extensive. 



In Anjouan the natives make use of the leaves of Tephrosia 

 Vogelii, which probablv contain a stupef active poison, for 

 fishing. The bruised leaves are thrown into the water, and 

 the dazed hsh are then easil\' caught. 



AViLD Indigo Plant of Anjouan. 



Water ... 

 Ash ... 

 Nitrogen 



Sulphuric acid 



Phosphoric acid 



Lime 



Magnesia 



Potash 



Soda 



Oxide of iron 



In loD parts of In loo parts of 

 drj' matter natural substance 



VICIA FABA (BEAN). 



This bean has been known from the remotest times. It 

 has been recorded by Ezekiel, David, and Samuel, and was 

 introduced into China by the Emperor Chin-Nong 2,822 

 years before the Christian era. 



In Greece this legume was used in the Eleusinian fetes 

 that were celebrated yearly in the magnificent Temple of 

 Ceres, built by Pericles. The Romans also regarded the 

 bean as a food plant. According to Plin\-, the flour it 

 yielded was called Lomentuni jahacum and in conjunction 

 with the flour of wheat and millet was used in the manu- 

 facture of bread. 



In Paris, in the sixteenth centur}', small beans in their 

 immature state were the subject of competition on the 



