DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES 



23 



flatter-podded and inferior strain. He strongly recom- 

 mended elimination of these inferior plants, but they 

 appeared in some strains as grown at Geneva as late as 

 1929 especially in a strain listed as Earliest of All. The 

 stocks grown in 1930 were uniformly of the early or 

 true type and the descriptions are from this growing. 

 At Geneva, Creaseback was considered in the second 

 early group with edible pods ready in from 68 to 72 

 days or from 3 to 5 days later than Kentucky Wonder, 

 3 days later than Caseknife, and 10 days later than 

 Lazy Wife. The pods are very similar in size and shape 

 to Scotia, lacking, however, the purple under-coloring. 

 The plant in growth habit is not so open nor lacking in 

 foliage as are the plants of Kentucky Wonder. The 

 foliage appears much brighter, the vines more branched, 

 and the leaflets less crumpled. 



Plant small, rather bushlike at early stages but climbing well 

 later, compact at base of plant with little branching above. Vines 

 4'j and more feet high with spread of 2 feet at base; vigor good, 

 hardy, moderately productive, maturing all pods within a short 

 period; slender stemmed, branches few, wholly green. Foliage 

 medium abundant, dark green; surface smooth, somewhat crumpled, 

 light veining, medium in thickness; most leaflets curled so that 

 underside is cupshaped, medium to large, 4'j inches long by 3'i 

 inches broad, regular in shape, widest nearer base, rounded to stem, 

 straight taper to short tip. Flowers white. 



Pods dark dull green in color. Quality very good; very fleshy, 

 quite stringless, not fibrous, brittle, and fine in texture. Size 

 medium long, fairly broad and plump, 1 5—6 x ' 2 x n inches I, con- 

 taining 6—8 seeds per pod. Shape round, nearly circular in cross- 

 section, straight to slightly curved, deeply crease-backed, regular, 

 not crowded, smooth, filled to the tip and edge, and rounded at 

 the end. Spur short, slender and slightly curved. Suture, placental 

 is indented and carpellary, rounded to obtuse. Seeds small to 

 medium, 1.25 x .7 x .5 cm., (110-130 per oz. ); oval, sub-reniform, 

 fairly plump to somewhat flattened; ends usually rounded, occa- 

 sionally inclined to be truncate. Hilum small, flattened. Color 

 ivory white, faintly marked with a veinlike under pattern. 



Curious Pole. This was grown from seed sent to 

 Gregory, the sender stating that it originated as the 

 result of a cross between Dwarf Horticultural and 

 Dreer Lima, which cross Gregory believed impossible. 

 He listed the variety in 1885 and it was grown at Geneva in 

 1886. It was quite early (76 days from planting to edible 

 podsj and averaged more than 40 pods to the plant. 



Cutshort. Refs. 13, 47, 63, 67, 68, 91. Syns. 

 Cornfield Pole, Corn Hill Pole, Red Speckled, Red Cut 

 Short, Red Speckled Oval Seeded. This type of pole 

 bean was first known as early as 1835 under the name 

 Corn Bean. Later it became known as Corn Hill 

 and sometime during the early eighties as Cutshort. 

 Cutshort thus is an old variety with many names; 

 but it is doubtful whether the name Corn Bean, given by 

 Tracy as the earliest one used for it, is more than a 

 general name applying to other varieties as well; at 

 least the Corn Bean described by Burr was too long- 

 podded and its seeds too flat and too brown to be con- 

 sidered identical with Cutshort. 



Cutshort as a name was unknown to Martens, but 

 Burr's Corn Bean was probably Martens' Phaseolus 

 gonospermus eostaneus. Cutshort would fall in the 

 same group of truncated or angular beans, but could 

 not be mistaken for any of the nine varieties included in 



this group by Martens. Irish's Corn Bean, in spite of 

 some discrepancies in foliage and in seed color, is evi- 

 dently Cutshort and not Burr's Corn Bean. 



Cutshort is largely a southern bean, rather too late 

 for New York. In the South it can be grown in corn, 

 and is valued mostly for the snap pods. Its productivity 

 counter-balances the smallness of its pods and their lack 

 of quality when past early stages. The pods are too 

 small for market purposes. In 1901 Cutshort was listed 

 129 times under 7 names in seedsmen's catalogs, in 

 1906 and 1921 each 101 times, and in 1931 by 35 of the 

 leading houses. Its season is intermediate to late, at 

 Geneva 75 days, or 10 days later than Kentucky Wonder, 

 Ideal Market, or Sickle, 3 to 5 days later than Scotia, 

 and a week earlier than Lazy Wife. Cutshort does not 

 resemble any other pole variety, the small-sized pods are 

 quite similar to the pods of navy bean field type. The 

 shape and color of the pods are similar to those char- 

 acters in pods of Lazy Wife, but in size the pod is much 

 smaller and the seed is red speckled instead of white. 

 Plant medium to large in size, climbing well, loosely twining, 

 4 to 5 feet tall with spread at base of about 2 ' ■> feet; vigor good, 

 very productive over a long season; thick stemmed, moderately 

 branched, wholly green. Foliage abundant, very dense at base of 

 plant, medium to dark green, surface glossy, slightly crumpled, 

 smooth, medium veining, thin; leaflets small to medium, 3 5 s by 3}£ 

 inches wide, with longer laterals, widest very near bases which are 

 almost straight along margin, sides gently curving to very obscure, 

 but with pointed tips. Flowers white. 



Pods medium to dark green in color. Quality fair; quite 

 brittle, fairly fleshy, slight amount of string and fine texture. Size 

 short, broad and medium, quite plump, (3-4 x 3 s x ?s inches', 

 containing 4-5 seeds per pod. Shape round, broad oval in cross- 

 section, slightly curved, straight backed, slightly constricted, very 

 crowded, quite smooth, filled to the tip and edge and abruptly 

 rounded to truncate on the end. Spur short, medium stout and 

 straight. Suture, placental is flat and carpellary, obtuse to rounded. 

 Seeds small, .9 x .8 x .5 cm., (105-110 per oz. I, generally 

 quite variable in shape, however, most of them are rhomboidal, 

 rather thin and flattened; ends truncate. Hilum large, flat. Color 

 dingy gray (pallid purple drab) thru which reddish-gray (light 

 vinaceous-gray) vein-like markings appear; dotted and splashed 

 with purplish crimson (bordeaux) on hilar surface; prominent 

 reddish brown, medium wide eye-ring present in all instances. 



Delicious Giant. This rather late introduction, 

 1925, originated with Gill Bros, as a cross between 

 Oregon Giant and Kentucky Wonder. It was earlier 

 and more prolific than Oregon Giant and a decided 

 improvement on that variety. This variety and Oregon 

 Giant are quite unusual in size of pod clusters, size of 

 pods, and in pod color. 



Pods like those of Oregon Giant, or even longer, more slender, 

 almost round in cross-section, crease-backed, better filled by seeds 

 more beautifully marked with red, and of a better quality. Seeds 

 are of the size and shape of Kentucky Wonder, with grayish brown 

 or medium brown ground color and more mottled than striped 

 with numerous dark brown or black markings. 



Dwarf Lima. Refs. 63. This was listed by North- 

 rup, Braslan Goodwin Co., about 1890, and tested at the 

 Kansas Station. It was found to be neither dwarf nor 

 a lima; but a pole bean of moderate height and vigor, 

 somewhat like Cranberry Pole in habit, early, and 

 productive. 



Foliage dark green; leaflets of medium size, broad, rough. 

 Flowers white. Pods 5 to 7 inches long, nearly straight, ?s to 



