264 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS AND PLANTS 
that the bean is a South American contribution, a conclusion 
that is strengthened by the fact that shortly after the Spanish 
discovery the bean was mentioned almost simultaneously in 
several widely separated regions of the Old World. 
Candolle sums up as follows :1 “ (1) Phaseolus vulgaris has 
not been long cultivated in India, the southwest of Asia, and 
Egypt; (2) it is not certain that it was known in Europe be- 
fore the discovery of America; (3) at this epoch the number 
of varieties suddenly increased in European gardens and all 
authors commenced to mention them ; (4) the majority of the 
species of the genus exist in South America; (5) seeds appar- 
ently belonging to the species have been discovered in Peru- 
vian tombs of an uncertain date, intermixed with many species, 
all American.” 
The pea. This familiar plant exists in two species of interest 
to agriculture : 
1. The field pea (P%saim arvense), grown both for its seed 
and its forage as stock food. This species undoubtedly grows 
wild in the Mediterranean countries, possibly also in the south 
of Russia, and has been only recently introduced into cultivation. 
2. The garden pea (Piswi sativum), generally ranked as a 
separate species, but more than likely developed from the above 
by cultivation ; at any rate it has been longer known to cultiva- 
tion than has the less-improved field pea. It was cultivated by 
both the Greeks and the Romans, and a small-seeded variety 
has been found in the lake dwellings of Switzerland and Savoy 
(age of bronze). There seems to be no indication of its ancient 
cultivation in either Egypt or India. 
The vetch (Vicia sativa), or tare, a leguminous plant closely 
related to the pea, is wild over nearly all of Europe, in Algeria, 
and in Asia Minor, as are several related species, especially 
lcta americana, in this country. 
diversifolius, Phaseolus helvolus, and Phaseolus pauciforus. See Gray under 
Phaseolus. 
1“ Origin of Cultivated Plants,” p. 343. 
