20 



THE VEGETABLES OF NEW YORK 



Posterior With reference to the end of the bean seed nearest 



the caruncle. 

 Prostrate When the plant or portion of a plant grows more or 



less flat to the ground. 

 Protuberant. . . When the extension of an object above the adjacent 



surface is pronounced. 

 Quality The condition of the bean at the snap stage or its 



equivalent as suggested by such characteristics as 



fleshiness, brittleness, stringiness or their lack of 



them. 

 Recurved Convex to the horizontal plane of the upper (pla- 

 cental) suture. 

 Regular When the surface of a pod is without constrictions 



or swollen portions. 



Reniform Kidney-shaped. 



Rhomboidal . . . Applied to seeds with truncated ends when the 



angle of the end and the side is oblique. 

 Round Applied to seeds or pods when the cross-section of 



either is circular or nearly so. 

 S-curved Alternately concave and convex to the horizontal 



plane of the upper (placental) suture. 

 Scimitar- When the curve of a pod is abruptly concave. 



curved 

 Speckled When the color of the seed coat is dotted with very 



small, rather distinct, diminutive spots. 

 Spheroidal .... Similar in shape to a sphere. 

 Spur The portion of the pod extending from the distal 



end; the tip. 

 Straight- When the cross-section of a pod shows that the 



backed placental suture in cross-section is straight, not 



depressed or humped. 



Streaked Marked with rather long, irregular stripes. 



Stringiness .... A term referring to the relative toughness of the 



fibro-vascular bundles along either or both placental 



and carpellary sutures. 



Striped Marked with a long, narrow stripe or stripes. 



Suture The edge of a pod, either the line along which a 



dry pod will split, or its opposite. 

 Texture The condition of a pod or leaf as manifested by 



the presence of large or small cells; the coarseness 



or fineness of the " grain." 

 Trailing When the growth habit of a plant is long and 



prostrate. 



Truncate When the seed is abruptly flattened at the ends. 



Twining When the growth habit of a plant is intermediate 



between climbing and trailing; plants lack the 



ability to cling to a support. 

 Ventral The placental surface in a pod, the side to which 



the seeds are attached; in the seed, the side of the 



hilum. 

 Vigor The vegetative condition of a plant as manifested 



by the comparative sturdiness of growth. 

 Wrinkled A surface that is slightly ridged and furrowed. 



THE POLE VARIETIES OF GARDEN BEANS 

 The varieties of beans included under this class 

 are united by only one character, expressed in the name 

 of the group. This character, the ability to climb, is 

 constant but does not allow separation of the varieties 

 into this class until the plants are quite well along. 

 The growth habit of the true pole beans is indeterminate, 

 that of the true bush types is determinate. Differences 

 in seed size, shape, and color; leaf size and shape; and 

 flower color are not distinctive with either type when 

 applied with the hope of establishing separatory charac- 

 ters. 



The variability in plant characters of pole varieties 

 covers a wider range than for the bush sorts. The stems 

 range from wholly green, as in Georgian Pole, to nearly 



red, as in Scotia; foliage scanty, as in Kentucky Wonder, 

 to abundant, as in Southern Prolific; flowers white to 

 purple, pods short and small, as in Cutshort, to very 

 large and broad, as in Caseknife. The color, size, and 

 shape of seed of many varieties are quite individual. 

 Seed of Cutshort, Lazy Wife, Missouri Wonder, Oregon 

 Giant, and Scotia are notable examples of this. 



The utility of the pole beans is not markedly 

 different from that of the dwarfs. Edible pods may be 

 picked when quite young and free from fibre and parch- 

 ment, or allowed to ripen until the young seeds become 

 swollen but before the pod becomes dried. These are 

 known as shell beans. Other varieties, especially those 

 with white seed, are suitable for use as a dry bean when 

 harvested after the pods and seed are fully mature. 



It is probable that pole beans were more commonly 

 used fifty years ago than they are today. In New York 

 and the eastern region of the country, pole beans are 

 generally found only in home gardens ; in the South they 

 are popular in home gardens and are also planted in the 

 corn fields. In the Northwest, Oregon, Washington, 

 Idaho, and Utah, pole varieties are considered a valuable 

 market garden bean and also planted to some extent for 

 the canning trade. In the central and southern portions 

 of California, especially in the cooler coastal irrigated 

 valleys, pole beans are quite extensively grown by 

 market gardeners. For quality and yield they would 

 seem to be very satisfactory. Possibly their lateness 

 and the supports necessary are factors that limit their 

 use. 



The varieties of pole beans with the possible excep- 

 tion of those varieties which may be classed as Horti- 

 cultural Beans have undergone less change than those 

 of any other group. The relatively small number of 

 varieties has apparently satisfied the requirements of 

 the grower. It is of interest to note that in this group 

 the green-podded varieties far outnumber the yellow- 

 podded sorts. This is in direct contrast to the situation 

 which exists in the bush varieties of garden beans. 

 Among the older varieties of cultivated beans are 

 Kentucky Wonder (1877), Caseknife (1820), Crease- 

 back (1881), Cutshort (1835), and Golden Cluster 

 (1806). These are variety names of pole beans listed 

 since the date indicated but probably known as types 

 for unknown ages of the past. They are still the most 

 prominent in a long list of varieties. The following 

 descriptions are further divided according to the color 

 of the pod. 



GREEN PODS 



Advance. This bean originated with F. C. Heine- 

 mann, Erfurt, Germany, sometime before 1900. It was 

 introduced here in 1903 by Vaughn, and was tested on 

 the U. S. Department of Agriculture plats in 1905 and 

 1906. It differs from Caseknife in habit of growth in a 

 very small way. Tracy found it small-vined, very early, 

 and decidedly unproductive. 



Alpha. Refs. 90. The J. A. Everitt Seed Com- 

 pany of Indianapolis introduced Alpha in 1896 as the 

 " earliest pole bean in existence." It was said to mature 



