HISTORY AND BOTANY J 



bushels to H. V. Prentiss of Albion who was the 

 only man in the county who could be induced to buy 

 so many. 



Beans are exogenous plants, that is, outside grow- 

 ers, the new tissue forming near the outside of the 

 stem and thus enlarging the diameter of the plant. 

 They are also dicotyledonous, 

 that is, have two cotyledons. The 

 seeds contain no endosperm or 

 albumen and exclusive of the 

 coats consist entirely of embryo. 

 The kidney bean is an excellent 

 example of the structure of a two 



THE BEAN SEED. , , , . a r. .t. 



cotyledoned embryo. After the 

 bean has been soaked in warm water for several hours 

 the coats may be easily removed. The two fleshy coty- 

 ledons (see Fig. 2) are then often separated 

 from each other save at the point where the rad- 

 ical or caulicle (a) is seen projecting like a blunt 

 spur. Carefully breaking away one of the coty- 

 ledons a side view of the radical and plumule 

 is secured (b), the former of which was partially 

 and the latter entirely embedded between the 

 cotyledons. The plumule plainly exhibits two 

 delicate leaves on which the unaided eye may note 

 the veins. These leaves are folded together along 

 their mid-ribs. The cotyledons are carried up into 

 the air where they become green and constitute the 

 first pair of leaves of the plant. The second pair 

 are the tiny leaves of the plumule just described, 

 between which is the bud, whence all the subsequent 

 aerial organs develop in succession. 



Different types of beans. — Numerous species of 

 beans are known. However, agriculturally they can 



