KIDNEY-BEANS. 551 



34. KIDNEY-BEANS. 



Phaseolus vulgaris, or Dwarf Kidney Bean, is the 

 Haricot of the French. It is a half-hardy annual, a 

 native of India, and introduced into this country in 

 1597) or probably earlier. 



The species termed the Runner, Phaseolus multi- 

 florus> is a tender perennial, a native of South America, 

 introduced in 1633. 



The following sorts are those principally cultivated 

 in our gardens : 



1. Battersea. 9. Large Yellow. 



2. Black-Speckled. 10. Liver-coloured. 



3. Canterbury. 11. Negro. 



4. Chinese. 12. Red-Speckled. 



5. Dwarf Scarlet. 13. Small Yellow. 



6. Early Dun, or Buff. 14. White Dutch. 



7. Early Purple-Speckled. ,15. Scarlet Runner.* 



8. Large White. 16. White Dutch Runner. 



The Early Dun, Early Purple- Speckled, and Negro, 

 are the sorts mostly used for forcing, and for the first 

 crops in the open air ; the other dwarfs are used for 

 succession ones, some gardeners preferring one sort, and 

 some another ; but the Battersea, Canterbury, Black 

 and Red Speckled, are those generally sown for the 

 principal crops. 



The Scarlet and Wltite Dutch Runners are those 



* It may be considered as a remarkable fact, that all our garden- 

 ers, who have written books on gardening, have never discovered, 

 that the Scarlet Runner is a perennial plant; and it is also stated to 

 be an annual, by such botanical authors as I have consulted ; but 

 the truth is, that it is a perennial : its roots are tuberous, similar to 

 those of the DAHLIA, and, like that, may be preserved through the 

 winter by the same means ; when if planted out in April, they 

 soon make their appearance above ground, and produce, for the 

 second time, an early and abundant crop. 



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