AND GENERAL HORTICULTURE. 



45 



BAY 



tropics, particularly in Brazil and India. 

 They are generally climbers, frequently at- 

 taining a gigantic size ; some few, however, 

 form trees, or large shrubs. B. tomentosa is a 

 native of Ceylon, where it forms a small tree, 

 growing about fifteen feet high, and having 

 pale, yellow flowers, spotted with crimson, 

 which has given rise to the superstitious idea 

 that they were sprinkled with the blood of St. 

 Thomas, hence the tree is called St. Thomas' 

 Tree. B. Vahlii is the Maloo climber of India, 

 a plant whose gigantic shrubby stems often 

 attain a length of 300 feet, and climb over the 

 tops of the highest trees in the forest, twist- 

 ing so tightly round their stems that they 

 not unfrequently strangle and cause death, 

 the stems ultimately decaying and leaving a 

 sheath of climbers standing in their place. 

 The young shoots and leaves are covered with 

 a rust-colored scurf, and are furnished with 

 tendrils. The leaves are very large, often 

 more than a foot in diameter, composed of 

 two oval-shaped lobes joined together for 

 about half their length, and heart-shaped at 

 the base. The flowers are snowy-white, and 

 arranged in racemes. The exceeding tough 

 fibrous bark of this species is employed in 

 India for making ropes, \\hich, from their 

 great strength, are used in the construction of 

 the suspension bridges across the River 

 Jumna. The bark of another Indian species 

 is used for making the slow-matches used 

 with native guns. 



Bay-berry. See Myrica cerifera. 



Bay Oak. Quercus sessiliflora. 



Bay Rose. Epilobium angustifolium. 



Bay Tree. Magnolia glauca. 



Bay Tree. Poison, llllcum Floridanum, 



Bay Tree. Rose. Nerium Oleander. 



Bay Tree. Sweet. Lauras nobilis. 



Beach Grass. See Ammophila. 



Beach Pea. The common name of Lathyrus 

 maritimus, a species growing plentifully in 

 New Jersey and northward. 



Bead Tree. See Ormosia. 



Bean. Phaseolus. The varieties of our com- 

 mon Garden or Bush Bean have their origin 

 in P. vulgaris, which is supposed to be a native 

 of the East Indies, though there are none of 

 the species found wild that in any way resem- 

 bles the varieties under cultivation. The 

 earliest notice that we have of the Kidney 

 Bean is that given by Pliny, who calls them 

 Phaseoli, and says the pod is to be eaten with 

 the seed. "According to Diodorus Siculus, 

 the Egyptians were the first to cultivate it, 

 and to make it an article of common diet, yet 

 they conceived religious notions concerning 

 it which made them at length refrain from 

 eating it. Their priests dared not either 

 touch it or look at it. Pythagoras, who was 

 educated among the Egyptians, derived from 

 them theirveneration for the bean, andforbade 

 his disciples to eat it. He taught that it was 

 created at the same time and of the same 

 elements as man; that it was animated and 

 had a soul, which, like a human soul, suffered 

 the vicissitudes of transmigration. Aristotle 

 explains the prohibition of Pythagoras sym- 

 bolically. He says, that beans being tho 

 ordinary means of voting on public matters, 

 the white bean meaning an affirmative, and 



BEA 



the black a negative, therefore Pythagoras 

 meant to forbid his disciples to meddle with 

 political government. The Roman priests 

 affirmed that the bean blossom contained in- 

 fernal letters, referring to the dark stains on 

 the wings, and it is probable that all the 

 superstitions on the subject sprang from the 

 fruit." -Am. Ency. This species was first 

 cultivated in England in 1509, having been in- 

 troduced from the Netherlands. Many varie- 

 ties were known to Gerarde in 1590. The 

 running or Pole Beans are of the species P. 

 multiflorus, introduced from South America in 

 1663. (See Phaseolus.) The English Bean, 

 so called by our seedsmen, and commonly 

 known as Broad Windsor, is Faba vulgaris var. 

 macrosperma, a genus that has been under 

 cultivation as long as we have any records of 

 gardening. It is supposed to have originated 

 in Egypt, from the fact that the early Greek 

 writers mention receiving it thence. Of this 

 class there are many varieties, none of which 

 succeed well with us. 



Bean. The common name for Faba. Bog 

 Bean, the Buckbean, MenyantJies trifoliata. 

 Cujumary Bean, the tonic seed of Aydendron 

 Cujumary. Egyptian or Pythagorean Bean, 

 the fruit of Nelumbium speciosum. French or 

 Bush Bean, Phaseolus vulgaris. Haricot Bean, 

 the seed of Phaseolus vulgaris. Honey Bean, 

 the seed-pods of Gleditschia triacanthos. In- 

 dian Bean, an American name for Catalpa. 

 Kidney Bean, the common name for Phaseolus, 

 especially for those kinds cultivated as escu- 

 lents. Lima Bean, the popular name for 

 Phaseolus lunatus, of which the Sieva or 

 Southern Lima and its dwarf variety Hender- 

 son's Bush Lima Bean are evidently varieties. 

 Locust Bean, the pod of Ceratonia siliqua. 

 Molucca Bean, tho seed of Guilandina Bondu- 

 cella. Ordeal Bean of Old Calabar, the seeds 

 of Physostigma venenatum. Ox-eye Bean, the 

 seed of Mucuna urens. Pichurini Bean, a com- 

 mercial name for the cotyledons of Nectandra 

 Puchury. Sacred Bean, the common name for 

 Nelumbium. Sahuca Bean, the seeds of Soja 

 hispida. St. Ignatius's Bean, the seed of 

 Strychnos multiftora; also a Brazilian name for 

 the seeds of Fevillea cordifolia. Scarlet Run- 

 ner Bean, the seed of Phaseolus multiflorus. 

 Smoking Bean, the seed-pods of Catalpa big- 

 nonioides. Tonga or Tonquin Bean, the seed of 

 Dipterix odorata. Underground Bean, Arachis 

 hypogcea, commonly called Pea-nuts. Water 

 Bean, an English name for the family of 

 NelumbiacecB. Wild Bean, a common name 

 for Apios. Algaroba Bean is Ceratonia, sili- 

 qua. Asparagus Bean, or Yard Long, Dolichos 

 sesquipedalis. HibbertBean, Phaseolus lunatus 

 (same as Lima Bean). Horse or Field Bean, 

 Faba vulgaris var. equina. Horse-eye Bean, 

 Mucuna urens. Inga Bean, the pod of the 

 Bastard Cassia. Malacca Bean is the seed 

 of Semecarpus anacardium. Mesquit Bean, 

 the seed of Prosopis glandulosa. Pigeon 

 Bean is the small-seeded field Bean. Ram's 

 Horn Bean is Dolichos bicontortis. Red 

 Bean is Vigna unguiculata. Sea Bean, Florida 

 Bean, a common name for the seed of Entada 

 scandens and of Ormosia dasycarpa. Seaside 

 Bean is Canavalia obtusifolia and Vigna 

 luteola. Sugar Bean, Phaseolus saccharatus 

 and P. lunatus. Sword Bean is Entada scan- 

 dens and Canavalia gladiata. Tick Bean is the 



