34 



THE VEGETABLES OF NEW YORK 



successors says that the variety was noticed by them in 

 1898 in the garden of Miss Callahan, Los Angeles, 

 Calif., and offered in 1899 in small quantities. No 

 earlier record of how or where this most popular wax- 

 podded pole bean originated can be found. The pods are 

 suitable for either snap pods or green shell beans. After 

 30 years trial it is now the most popular of the wax- 

 podded pole varieties. Many name variations and 

 synonyms have been used for Kentucky Wonder Wax 

 which is evidence of its widespread use. In season 

 it is an early variety, 68 days, or one week earlier than 

 Golden Cluster Wax. The pods resemble those of 

 Golden Cluster but are longer, narrower, shorter- 

 pointed, earlier, but less hardy and vigorous; the seed 

 is colored instead of white. The pods are not as much 

 curved and distorted as those of the green-podded 

 Kentucky Wonder but are more curved and less regular 

 than Golden Cluster. 



Plant small to medium, growth about 4} ■> feet tall with spread 

 of 1 J _> feet at the base, a good climber but open in growth ; only 

 fairly vigorous, short in bearing period, productive; slender stemmed, 

 rather sparingly branched, yellowish green often with reddish 

 tinge near nodes. Foliage scanty to medium abundant, medium 

 to dull dark green: leaf surface crumpled, slightly rough, slightly 

 pubescent: leaflets large, 4} , to 4", inches long for terminals, 4 to 

 4 1 4 inches wide at about one-fourth the distance from the base of 

 leaf, slightly heart shaped at stem, distinctly longer and propor- 

 tionately narrower for the one-seeded laterals, margins well rounded 

 at widest point and straight or slightly incurved to tapering tips. 

 Flowers white. 



Pods light yellow in color. Quality good; very brittle, moder- 

 ately stringy, not exceedingly fibrous, fleshy, and of moderately 

 coarse texture. Size long, medium broad and moderately plump 

 (6-8 x \ _. x "'i-fs inches I, containing 6-8 seeds per pod. Shape 

 flat at first, becoming broad ovate and finally quite square in cross- 

 section, curved, not as much as Kentucky Wonder, but more so 

 than Golden Cluster, occasionally S-shaped, crease backed, con- 

 stricted, not crowded, smooth, filled to the tip and fairly well to the 

 edge, and rounded to tapering on the end. Spur short, thick 

 and straight. Suture, placental is slightly indented, and carpellary, 

 obtuse. 



Seeds large, 1.6 x .9 x .6 cm. (80 per oz.\ broad oval to sub- 

 reniform, long oval thru cross-section, somewhat flattened, seed 

 coat inclined to be wrinkled; ends abruptly rounded and often 

 truncate. Hilum medium, indented. Color shining seal to choco- 

 late brown (burnt umber ) over entire surface. 



Mastiff Golden-Pod. This variety, the largest 

 podded of the pole beans, was introduced by Johnson & 

 Stokes in 1892. The variety, in spite of its good points, 

 apparently disappeared in a decade, as it was not listed 

 in the catalogs of 1901. While late, it was very produc- 

 tive and with pods of good quality. 



Plant tall, vigorous, climbing well; foliage rather scanty 

 medium to light green; leaflets of medium size, short, broad. Pods 

 much like those of Golden Cluster, often long, with long rounded 

 ends, and very short dorsal tips; very fleshy, nearly round as beans 

 enlarge, light waxy yellow, " of rich buttery flavor. Seeds about 6, 

 apparently quite large, short oval, plump, light yellow. 



Mont D"Or Pole. Refs. 28, 47, 48, 51, 52, 91, 



93, 94, 97, 98. Syns. Golden Butter. This variety, 

 as its name foretells, is a French sort which originated 

 near Lyons sometime before 1874 when its merits were 

 noted in an English horticultural periodical. According 

 to French records, the variety spread rapidly, being 

 grown and much appreciated in Germany which prob- 



ably led to earlier statements that the variety originally 

 came from there. Just when or by whom it was brought 

 to America is uncertain, but it has been listed by seeds- 

 men at least since 1883 when it was cataloged by Gregory. 

 It is a later wax-podded variety suited for home use 

 but not as a market variety as the pod color is poor when 

 cooked. It is late in season, although somewhat earlier 

 than Indian Chief. The pods are flatter and straighter 

 than pods of Indian Chief. In some respects they 

 resemble pods of some of the bush wax-podded varieties, 

 such as Curries, the pods of which do not become rounded 

 out at the green-shell stage as do pods of Indian Chief. 



Plant, at Geneva this variety has shown rather poor growth, 

 not over 3} o feet tall, climbing weakly: vigor poor, open growth, 

 slow to start climbing; late, rather unproductive; slender stemmed, 

 few branches, slightly reddish tinged. Foliage scanty, light green, 

 surface somewhat crumpled, slightly rough, thick; leaflets small 

 2 ' _> inches long, 2 inches wide ; widest one-fourth the distance from 

 the base, well rounded to stem, terminal leaf bi-symmetrical, side 

 leaflets one-sided but rounded, tips short pointed. Flowers Phlox 

 Pink. 



Pods uniformly light clear yellow in color. Quality excellent; 

 stringless, entirely fiberless, brittle, tender and fine in texture. 

 Size moderately long, quite broad, and slender, 5 1 4 -6 x Js x ■ , 

 inches), containing 5-6 seeds per pod. Shape flat, oval in cross- 

 section, moderately straight, straight backed, regular to slightly 

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

 and distinctly rounded at the end. Spur short, moderately stout 

 and straight. Suture, placental flattened and carpellary, acute to 

 moderately obtuse. 



Seeds medium, 1.25 x .8 x .7 cm., (70-75 per oz.), short, 

 broad oval, very plump, nearly circular in cross-section; ends 

 uniformly but abruptly rounded. Hilum small, flattened. Color 

 reddish brown (liver brown) under color quite uniformly mottled 

 and spotted with very dark almost blackish brown over entire 

 surface, occasionally blotched solidly over a small area on the ends 

 or dorsal surface with the same shade. Fresh seeds occasionally 

 have all or part of the surface blotched with purple blackish purple . 



Queen. Refs. 47. Irish included Queen in his list 

 and there seems to be no other indication of its rise in 

 America. It is evidently of German origin, but no 

 longer listed in either Germany or France. According 

 to Irish, it differed from Indian Chief only in the seeds 

 which were nearly globular, like those of Black German, 

 but larger than those of Indian Chief. 



St. Fiaere. Refs. 52, 65. This is a French variety 

 which was introduced by Vilmorin in 1893 and brought 

 to America about 1914, nearly 20 years later, by 

 Farquhar. Productive of long, fleshy, beautiful white 

 pods but evidently too late in season to gain a place in 

 America. 



Plant very tall, vigorous, climbing well, quite resistant to 

 disease, with abundant, flat, smooth, very light green foliage. 

 Flowers white or pale lilac. Pods 6 ] 2 to 7 3 i inches long, -,, to 

 nearly 3 4 inch wide, with heavy profile, almost round and swollen 

 over beans, very fleshy, stringless and fiberless. Seeds 7 to 8, 

 elongated kidney-shape, broad, considerably flattened. f « to nearly 

 3 4 inch long, not quite half as wide, rather more than one-third as 

 thick, grayish coffee brown. 



Sunshine Wax. Refs. 48, 91. Syns. Red Sissons. 

 Burpee in 1890 introduced this variety to the American 

 trade. Some growers on Long Island were said to have 

 had seed and grown the beans since 1887. Originally 

 it was said to have come from France where it was 

 known as Red Sissons. In the trials at Geneva in 1890 



