VEGETABLES AXD FOOD PRODUCTS 211 



with white and others with pink flowers ; the seeds also vary in 

 colour from white to cream, pink, and purple. Sow in rows 3 to 

 4 feet apart, with about 6 inches between the seeds in the rows. 

 Place sticks along both sides of the row for supporting the vines. 



Phaseolus Mungo (=P. Max); Green Gram ; Mung ; Mun-eta, 

 5; Pasi-pyru, T. A small erect annual, about 16 in. high, with 

 narrow, cylindrical, straight radiating pods, 2\ to 3 in. long (in 

 clusters) and trifoliate leaves, the whole plant being hairy. It is a 

 native of India, and has been cultivated there as a food crop from 

 time immemorial, being still grown extensively in certain provinces 

 and to some extent in the dry zone of Ceylon, either as a single 

 product or as an inter-crop. The green pods are sometimes eaten 

 as a vegetable, but it is the ripe pulse that is valued, this being 

 cooked and used in various forms like dhal. The grain has a 

 pleasant taste, and is regarded as a wholesome and nutritious food. 

 The straw as well as the pulse is valued as a food for cattle and 

 horses. The plant is suited to dry districts and thrives in the 

 plains of India and up to 6,000 ft. elevation. When grown alone, 

 under average conditions, a yield of 5 maunds (400 Ib.) of grain 

 per acre may be obtained. 



Phaseolus Mungo, var. radiatus; Kalai. This variety, known 

 in India as " Urd," differs from the above (Green gram) in having 

 a longer stem and more trailing habit, also in the plant being more 

 hairy, the seeds fewer, larger and usually dark brown in colour. 

 The ripe pulse, according to SIR GEORGE WATT, is the most highly 

 esteemed of all pulses in India and fetches the highest price. It 

 is eaten in the form of dhal bread, boiled whole, or as spiced 

 balls, and is the chief constituent of the wafer biscuits known in 

 Bombay as " papad." The average amount of seed required to 

 sow an acre is said to be 6 Ib., and the average return, when 

 grown as a sole crop, is about 5 maunds or 400 Ib. 



Phaseolus vulgaris, var. Climbing, or Runner Beans; Bonchi, 

 S." Bonchi-kai " T. This slender climbing bean is perhaps the most 

 useful of all beans for the low-country and medium elevations. 

 Though less proliric than the dwarf erect kinds, it remains longer 

 productive than the latter, which is of importance when grown 

 only for one's own table. With a few successional sowings it can 

 be had in fruit almost throughout the year. The young tender 

 pods are the parts used, these being usually cut up into thin strips, 

 boiled, and served in different ways. Sow the seeds thinly in 

 rows, in well-tilled and manured soil. The seedlings will be up in 



