DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES 



55 



suitable for home use because of stringiness. The seeds 

 were smaller and proportionately shorter than those of 

 Currie Wax, ovoid rather than oblong, " solid black." 

 The variety never became popular in America. 



Black-Eyed Wax. Refs. 9, 15, 16, 27, 28, 29, 



48, 49, 61, 63, 91, 96. A variety of American origin 

 said to have resulted from a cross between Black Wax 

 and Golden Wax, and introduced in 1887 by both 

 Henderson and Burpee. For a time it was quite popular, 

 being listed by 30 seedsmen in 1901, but in 1907 it was 

 reported by Tracy as almost out of cultivation. Now 

 it is almost unknown. Grown at Geneva in 1894, it 

 was found to be early, of quite long season, and quite 

 productive. 



Plant large to medium, about lj^ feet tall, erect, stiff- 

 stemmed, runnerless; foliage medium in size and color. Flowers 

 white. Pods 4 3 4 to 5 '2 inches long, somewhat curved, oval in 

 cross-section (.Tracy) (thicker than wide, Denaiffe), deep yellow, 

 very fleshy, brittle, stringless, fiberless, of good quality. Seeds 

 5 or 6, rather more than J jj inch long, or broad, very plump, kidney 

 shaped, white with large semi-solid or somewhat " butterfly " 

 shaped black splotch about the eye, apparently much like Kidney 

 Wax. 



Boston Dwarf. Refs. 97, 98. Gregory first listed 

 this bean in 1883, the next year after it had been grown 

 in the trials at Geneva. No information as to its origin 

 has been discovered nor does the color of its seed give 

 any clue when noted in comparison with color of seed 

 of present-day wax beans. Gregory in his description 

 claims it to be superior to German Black Wax in vigor 

 and productivity. Wing's notes speak of two types, 

 differing somewhat in height of plants, color and size 

 of foliage, and color, amount of curvature, and relative 

 slenderness of pods, but he describes and gives data for 

 only one. 



Plants bushy, not much branched, runnerless, stems often 

 shaded red; foliage somewhat scanty, medium green; leaflets of 

 medium size, taper-pointed. Flowers blush pink. Pods 3 to 

 4 inches long, straight or slightly curved, with short, stout tips 

 about } 2 inch wide, ovate in cross-section, fleshy when ready for 

 use, shrinking much in ripening becoming much contracted between 

 seeds, stringless and of good quality, yellow. Seeds 3 or 4, not 

 quite J 2 inch long, half as wide and as thick as wide, slightly kidney- 

 shaped, varying in color from dark dun to dark brown. 



Brittle Wax. Refs. 41, 48, 69, 77, 91, 99. Syns. 

 Round Pod Kidney Wax, New Round Pod Kidney, 

 Kidney Wax Round Pod. Confusion exists between 

 varieties of black-eyed or very dark brown-eyed wax 

 beans. In the growers' lists of today 12 different names 

 occur. Close inspection of the seeds and of the growing 

 plants and pod characters would indicate only two 

 varieties with perhaps strains which differ but slightly. 

 Of these similar varieties, Round Pod Kidney Wax was 

 probably the earliest in origin, having been introduced 

 in 1900 by Johnson and Stokes. Brittle Wax was 

 introduced as Twentieth Century Dwarf Wax the year 

 following, the name being changed to Brittle Wax in 

 1902 as the result of a prize name contest. Four years 

 later, in 1906, Burpee introduced the Burpee Kidney 

 Wax and Maule the same year his Improved Butter 

 Wax. The first three of these originated with Keeney 

 and the last with Rogers Bros. Thirty years after the 



type was introduced it is exceedingly difficult to separate 

 the varieties and impossible to assign the synonyms of 

 each with certainty. Many types and strains have 

 been grown here in our recent tests and compared as 

 carefully as the decidedly variant material admits. 

 Not only do the brown-eyed seeds become black-eyed 

 with age, but these colors and shades are sometimes 

 actually reversed from parent to progeny or when grown 

 under a different environment. (Ref. Owens Journ. 

 Agr. Res. 37:435. 1928.) The four names given 

 above and eight others using a different arrangement of 

 the same words are commonly found in the trade lists. 

 While very minor differences may occur, it is significant 

 that nearly all handlers of bean seeds, whether growers 

 or retailers, list only 2 of the 12 names. Brittle Wax 

 and Round Pod Kidney Wax being very nearly identical, 

 we have chosen the name Brittle Wax to represent the 

 group which has seeds that show the brown coloring 

 the more often and the name Kidney Wax to represent 

 the other form of the dark brown black-eyed wax sorts, 

 this latter group showing the smaller amount of eye 

 marking. 



Brittle Wax came from a cross between Black-eyed 

 Wax and Round-pod Refugee. It is, therefore, a half- 

 brother of Round-pod Kidney Wax and Pencil Pod 

 Black Wax through the Round-pod Refugee parentage. 

 Brittle Wax in quality is one of the very best of the 

 wax pods, although it is not superior to Pencil Pod 

 Black Wax in this respect. It is a variety suitable for all 

 uses, home garden, market, and canning. It is widely 

 grown as a canning bean because of the long, fiberless 

 pods, only slightly curved at the tip, and with exceed- 

 ingly good color. The seed develops slowly and shows 

 very little pigment. It is used both as a cut bean and 

 for canning whole. Brittle Wax grows best on sandy 

 loam soils and yields its best only under very favorable 

 conditions. In season, a second early, 50 days at 

 Geneva, this is only 4 days later than Challenge Black 

 Wax, 2 to 3 days later than Wardwell's, the same in 

 season with Pencil Pod, Delicious Wax, and Golden 

 Wax, and possibly 2 days earlier than Stringless Refugee 

 Wax. As originally offered, Brittle Wax differed slightly 

 from Round Pod Kidney Wax, but most seedsmen 

 catalog them as similar. Keeney considered Brittle 

 Wax the finer but more delicate of the two. As grown 

 here, plants of Brittle Wax were about 2 inches taller 

 and more erect in early stages, but similarly spreading 

 later, pods more curved, more slender when viewed 

 sidewise, and slightly more constricted. Except for the 

 seed and flower color, Brittle Wax is very similar to 

 Pencil Pod Black Wax, the plants are not as large, 

 vigorous, or productive, and the foliage is lighter in 

 color and the pods slightly smaller. 



Plant large, 14 to 16 inches tall, spread in row about 15 inches, 

 erect early, somewhat drooping as pods enlarge, more spreading 

 in habit when fully grown; vigorous, only moderately productive 

 over long bearing period. Stems rather slender, smooth, short 

 internodes, base short; only moderately branched, rarely with sec- 

 ondary branches, but without runners, green thruout. Foliage 

 abundant, medium green; leaf surface almost glossy, rough, occa- 

 sionally slightly crumpled, medium thick; leaflets large, 4% to 



