DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES 



45 



The origin and early history of this bean with its 

 many names and synonyms, is quite obscure; but 

 Denaiffe could detect no difference between Empereur de 

 Russie, which is undoubtedly Longfellow and a variety 

 long grown in Southern France known as Nain gris 

 maraicher (Dwarf Gray Market Garden). Longfellow 

 was brought to America in 1895 by Henderson and 

 offered as a novelty in his catalog of that year. The 

 appearance of the pods which are very straight, round, 

 long tipped, and dark green, is better than the quality 

 which is only good when the pods are quite small. The 

 plants are lacking in vigor, hardiness, resistance to 

 disease and productiveness. It is grown to some extent 

 in the South where a small round pod is desired as a 

 market bean. In season it is classed as midseason to 

 late, 53 days, at Geneva about 6 days later than Black 

 Valentine and Giant Stringless Greenpod or about the 

 same in season as Triumph of the Frames. The seed 

 differs from other varieties in the light lavender mark- 

 ings. In general appearance the plants are more like 

 Black Valentine than any other, the pods are also 

 similar in color to pods of that variety, but are shorter, 

 rounder, and straighter with a longer, more ill defined 

 point, less productive in yield and later in season. The 

 foliage is quite similar to Black Valentine but the plants 

 are more scraggly probably due to the longer branches. 



Plant medium to large, 14 to 18 inches tall, spread of 12 to 

 15 inches; erect with rather scraggly open growth, runnerless; 

 vigor, fair, only moderately productive during rather short season. 

 Stem stout, round, ridged, internodes long with rather prominent 

 nodes; branches, long outstretched, spreading, weighed down by 

 filling pods, this accounts for scraggly appearance of plant, green 

 thruout. Foliage medium abundant, rather dark full green, rough, 

 slightly crumpled, medium veined, slight pubescence, thin to 

 medium thick; leaflets 4J^ by 3Ji inches wide at }z distance from 

 base, broad for length, sides curved to sharply tapering points. 

 Flowers blush pink. 



Pods borne intermediate among the foliage; medium dark 

 dull green in color. Quality good; slightly stringy, tender, quite 

 fleshy, and rather fine in texture. Size long, rather narrow and 

 quite slender (6-6j^ x }i x tz inches) containing 5-6 seeds per 

 pod. Shape round to oval, nearly circular to ovate in cross-section 

 straight to slightly curved, straight backed to somewhat hump 

 backed, regular, not crowded, smooth, filled to the tip and edge 

 and rounded on the end. Spur long, slender and recurved. Suture, 

 placental flat to somewhat rounded, and carpellary, obtuse. 



Seeds medium, 1.6 x .55 x .55 cm, (70-95 per oz.) nearly cylin- 

 drical, sub-reniform, very plump, nearly circular in cross-section; 

 ends abruptly rounded. Hilum small, flat. Color dingy brownish 

 red 'Corinthian red; of various shades, mottled and splashed with 

 pale to deep buff (vinaceous cinnamon) over entire surface. A 

 rather wide range of color shades is apparent with this variety. 



Low's Champion. Refs. 11, 15, 16, 41, 48, 61, 



63, 66, 70, 80, 91, 99. Syns. Buck's Improved, Dwarf 

 Red Cranberry, Early Champion, New Champion, Red 

 Cranberry Dwarf. 



The bright red color and the shape of the seed of 

 this variety very much resemble a cranberry so it is 

 possible that Low's Champion as introduced by Aaron 

 Low Seed Company in 1884 was only a renaming of the 

 sort previously known as Dwarf Cranberry. It is 

 certainly one of the oldest varieties in cultivation for 

 it is found frequently in old lists of varieties that were 

 included in the early trials. Rawson in 1885 listed 



Champion among the novelties as did Gregory in 1885- 

 Where the original type came from is unknown but it 

 must have been among those plants cultivated by the 

 Indians. 



It is an excellent shell bean and is also of value as 

 a string bean, since it has a very brittle meaty pod of 

 inappreciable string and slight fiber. Its flavor is 

 unsurpassed, cooked and cut it has a real " beany " 

 taste. It remains long in the snap stage making it an 

 attractive variety for the home garden. Some eastern 

 canners, chiefly in Maine, are using Low's Champion to 

 pack a cut green bean for a special trade. At Geneva 

 it was a late to intermediate variety, 56 days to the first 

 pods, therefore similar in season to Dwarf Horticultural, 

 Longfellow, and Satisfaction, or 6 to 8 days later than 

 Bountiful and about 5 days earlier than Refugee. Except 

 in color of seed it is very similar to Warren. The plants 

 make a larger growth and are darker in foliage than 

 Ruby Horticultural. The pods are also larger, natter, 

 straighter, and lighter colored, being described as 

 " whity-green " in one description. The pods differ 

 from other shell beans represented as " Horts " in that 

 the pods of Low's Champion are not splashed with 

 crimson. 



Plant medium to large, 12 to 15 inches tall with spread of 

 about 15 inches; moderately erect, pods often touching the ground, 

 very compact and bushy; without runners, hardy, vigorous, and 

 moderately productive, long in season. Stem stout, round, ridged 

 below; branches rather few, green thruout. Foliage abundant, very 

 dark green, rather rough, slightly crumpled or wrinkled; leaflets 

 large, long, of medium width, 5 inches long by 3 ,'2 inches wide, 

 quite sharply pointed. Flowers lilac. 



Pods borne mostly below the foliage; very light green in 

 color. Quality good, fleshy, very tender, inappreciable string, with 

 very slight fiber, pod walls very thick. Size medium short, broad 

 and moderately slender (4 ] 2-6 x s l x ?g) containing 4-5 seeds per 

 pod. Shape flat, long oval in cross-section, straight, hump backed, 

 regular, crowded, filled to the tip and edge, and rounded at the end. 

 Spur long, moderately thick and somewhat curved. Suture, 

 placental is rounded and carpellary, moderately obtuse. 



Seeds medium to large, 1.3 x .95 x .8 cm, (45-55 per oz.); 

 extremely short, broad oval, plump; ends rounded but occasionally 

 truncate. Hilum small, slightly indented. Color very dark reddish 

 maroon (ox-blood red) over the entire surface, increasing in intensity 

 on the hilar surface. 



Lyonnaise. As the name indicates, Lyonnaise 

 originated in the vicinity of Lyons, France, and was 

 introduced about 1887, reaching the United States in 

 1901. Tho apparently a worthy variety, it never became 

 popular with us as in France and elsewhere. It was not 

 only regarded as a good market variety, but was con- 

 sidered one of the best second early stringless beans for 

 the home garden. 



Plant dwarf, 1 to lj£ feet tall. Foliage light green (Denaiffe 

 says very dark), of medium size, somewhat blistered. Flowers 

 lilac. Pods very long, slender but fleshy, round, sharply pointed 

 and with very long, slender tips, green. Seeds 6, large 5 8 t0 5 4 inch 

 long, not half as wide, long oblong with truncated ends, rather flat, 

 frequently curved sidewise or irregular, yellowish to reddish brown 

 (coppery maroon, Denaiffe) with rather inconspicuous darker 

 eye-ring. 



Marvel of Paris. Refs. 47, 49, 59. A variety 

 first sponsored commercially in 1892 by Vilmorin, but 

 originated some years earlier with market gardeners near 



