DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES 



33 



gradually receded, while that of Kentucky Wax has 

 ascended. The variety still is capable of producing 

 attractive, flat, nearly straight, fleshy pods. It is 

 most suitable as a snap pod bean, but can also be used 

 as a green shell and dry seed bean. The first pods were 

 pickable in 74 days at Geneva or about 7 days later 

 than Kentucky Wonder Wax. While in many ways like 

 Kentucky Wonder Wax, the seeds are a dull white 

 instead of maroon to chocolate brown, the pods are 

 shorter, straighter, wider, flatter, but have the same 

 pinkish coloring at green shell stage, the vines are larger 

 and more vigorous. In general utility and quality it 

 stands next to Golden Carmine-Podded Horticultural. 

 Golden Wax also resembles Sunshine Wax, an old variety 

 introduced by Burpee in 1890. Sunshine, however, has 

 very plump, oval, reddish brown seeds. 



Plant large, 4 1 j feet tall and more, spread at base 1 3 X feet, 

 good climbing habit, dense growth thruout, very vigorous, hardy, 

 productive over moderate producing period; thick, heavy stemmed, 

 yellowish green color, moderately branched, wholly green. Foliage 

 abundant, light to bright green; leaf surface smooth to slightly 

 crumpled, slight pubescence, medium in thickness; leaflets large, 

 broad, 4 ] 4 to 4 5 s inches long, 3j± to 4 1 _> inches wide; terminal leaf 

 bi-symmetrical, evenly and well rounded from widest point (one- 

 fourth the distance from base) to stem; lateral leaflets decidedly one- 

 sided; both taper nearly straight to short obtuse tips. Flowers 

 white. 



Pods clear, light, very waxy yellow in color. Quality excel- 

 lent, brittle, tender, stringless, fiberless and of fairly fine texture. 

 Size fairly long, broad and medium slender to plump, (5-7 x %-% x 

 ; . inches), containing 7-8 seeds per pod. Shape flat, ovate-acumi- 

 nate in cross-section, slightly curved, straight backed, regular to 

 somewhat constricted, not crowded, quite smooth, filled to the 

 tip but not to the edge, and rounded to tapering on the end. Spur 

 short, medium thick and rigidly straight. Suture, placental irregu- 

 larly rounded and slightly indented while carpellary is moderately 

 acute. 



Seeds medium to large 1.4 x .85 x .5 cm., (70 per oz.), broad 

 ova!, decidedly flattened, often irregular in thickness like those of 

 Caseknite; abruptly rounded to truncate ends. Hilum medium, 

 flat. Color dull white thru which shows grayish-vein-like markings 

 over the entire surface. 



Hungarian Butter. Refs. 63. There seems to be 

 little recorded in English writings of the bean varieties 

 that might be found in countries other than France, 

 England, and Germany. The origin of Hungarian 

 Butter is attributed to southeastern Europe, Gregory 

 introducing the variety in 1890. The Kansas Station in 

 trials the same year found the plant to be a weak, slender 

 climber with small to medium, broad, obtusely tipped 

 leaflets. The pods were in length about like Golden 

 Cluster, in shape like Kentucky Wonder Wax, almost 

 round or angular, fleshy, and quite stringless, and the 

 seeds 4 to 8, very similar to those of the Kentucky 

 Wonder Wax, but rather lighter in color, brownish dun 

 and with a dark eye-ring which was black in the green 

 beans. 



Indian Chief. Refs. 12, 13, 47, 48, 56, 91, 93, 

 94, 97, 98. Syns. Algiers, Algerian Wax Pole, Black 

 Algerian Wax Pole, Black Wax Pole, German Black Wax 

 Pole, Tall German Black Wax Pole. Two black- 

 seeded wax pole beans have been known in America for 

 three-quarters of a century, so similar in most respects 

 that separation was difficult even with pure stocks of 



both. Considering the exchanges of synonyms, mix- 

 tures of seeds, merging of types, and practical disap- 

 pearance from catalogs of the oldest common name 

 of one type, writers on beans, past or present, are quite 

 excusable for considering the two as one. Early records 

 taken at Geneva show that while German Wax, Black 

 Wax, and Indian Chief were very nearly identical, yet 

 German Wax was a much later variety in edible pods 

 as well as dry seeds. Black Wax seems to be intermedi- 

 ate in characters in comparison with the other varieties. 



One of these strains was undoubtedly the first 

 wax-podded bean known in Germany early in the 

 second quarter of the last century. Denaiffe describes 

 under a French name and as a sub-variety of Indian 

 Chief, Alger Noir a Rames, a German variety which 

 seems identical with Black German and which is prob- 

 ably the one included by Wing under German synonyms 

 of that variety. Martens placed most of the synonyms 

 belonging to these varieties under Phaseolus sphaericus 

 niger. 



It is said to have come to Europe from China 

 in 1837, to France in 1840, and to the United States 

 about 1852. It is chiefly valuable for the attractive, 

 waxy-yellow, stringless pods, suitable as snap pods or 

 green shells. In season late, not always certain to 

 mature in the North. Therefore, it has been generally 

 succeeded by earlier, larger, and more attractive podded 

 types, such as Golden Cluster Wax, Kentucky Wonder 

 Wax, or Golden Carmine-Podded Horticultural. 



Plant large, climbing well after rather slow start, moderately 

 compact, vigorous, moderately productive of long bearing period; 

 heavy stemmed, many branches usually tinged reddish near nodes. 

 Foliage medium abundant, medium to grayish green; leaf surface 

 smooth, flat; leaflets rather narrow, medium size, long pointed. 

 Flowers lilac. 



Pods deep rich yellow in color. Quality very good; brittle, 

 tender, nearly stringless, fiberless and fine in texture. Size medium 

 long, moderately broad, and fairly plump, {S}'r-6 J^x finches), 

 containing 5-7 seeds per pod. Shape flat, oval in cross-section, 

 moderately to much curved, very slightly crease-backed, slightly 

 constricted, not crowded, smooth, filled to the tip and edge and 

 rounded to somewhat tapering at the end. Spur short, thick and 

 curved. Suture, placental is slightly indented and carpellary, 

 obtuse. 



Seeds medium, 1.1 x .85 x .6 cm., (80 per oz.), short, broad 

 oval to oblong oval, broad oval thru cross-section, plump; ends 

 abruptly rounded to somewhat compressed suggesting an angular 

 or irregular general shape. Hilum small, protuberant. Color dull 

 black with a bluish tinge which is quite evident. 



Ivory-Pod Wax. Refs. 63. This bean is known 

 to us only through a test at the Kansas Station in 1889. 



Plant low, slender runner, with small, light green leaflets. 

 Flowers white. Pods abundant, 3 to 4} o inches long, curved, ivory 

 white. Seeds 4 to 6, oblong oval, often truncate, often irregular 

 and shrunken, polished veiny white. 



Kentucky Wonder Wax. Refs. 4, 48, 77, 91. 

 Syns. Ohio Wax Pole, Schwill's Wonderful Wax Pole, 

 Prosperity Wax Pole, Texas Prolific Wax, Old Home- 

 stead Wax, Golden Pod Kentucky Wax. What was 

 evidently a precursor of this variety was listed in 1889 

 as Ivory Pod Wax Kentucky, but Tracy and Jarvis say 

 that Kentucky Wonder Wax was introduced in 1901 

 by Johnson & Musser. A later catalog of that firm's 



