72 



THE VEGETABLES OF NEW YORK 



Horticultural Lima. Refs. 85. Syn. Giant Hor- 

 ticultural. This variety is an anomaly among beans, and 

 showed certain characters that led to the name and gave 

 support to the belief that the variety came from an acci- 

 dental, or field cross, between Dreer Improved Pole Lima 

 (Challenger) and Horticultural Pole (Speckled Cran- 

 berry) or Dwarf Horticultural which stood near each other 

 on the place of J. H. (Alex J.-Tracy) Hodges, Pepton, 

 Addison Co., Vt. In 1885, Mr. Hodges found a pod of six 

 beans, from which Horticultural Lima resulted. He grew 

 it two years, and placed most of the stock in the hands of 

 O. H. Alexander, of Charlotte, Vt. The latter sold the 

 variety to Childs, who introduced it in 1891. Ferry 

 listed it in 1893 and after two years tests commended it 

 highly, as did Gregory in 1894. It was said to be as early 

 as Dwarf Horticultural and to yield good crops of fine 

 quality green-shell beans. Gregory could not recognize 

 any of the lima flavor with which others credited it. 

 It was listed by 20 seedsmen in 1901. 



The possibility of a cross between beans of the two 

 species Phaseolus vulgaris and P. lunatis is denied by 

 botanists and plant breeders, all evidence is lacking in 

 the case of Gregory's Curious Pole, and nothing definite 

 supports Burbank's claim of a similar cross. We are 

 forced to conclude that certain peculiarities, possibly 

 due to " sporting " of one of the horticultural varieties, 

 or to a cross between tall and dwarf varieties in that 

 group, misled Hodges and others into believing that a 

 cross had taken place with Challenger as the male parent. 

 Somewhat similar beans have arisen from inter -varietal 

 crosses between tall horticultural varieties with seeds 

 approaching globular and other varieties, like Boston 

 Favorite (Goddard) and Crimson Beauty, which have 

 seeds similarly marked, but long, kidney-shaped, or 

 oblong. 



Plants of Horticultural Lima were rather small for pole type, 

 not much branched, moderately vigorous; leaflets large, coarse, 

 wrinkled like those of Dwarf Horticultural; flowers starting near 

 ground, of medium size, white. Pods in clusters, 4 to 6 inches long, 

 almost straight (gently curved in Gregory's figure), with long- 

 rounded ends and short, curved, almost central tips, flat type but 

 quite plump, swollen over beans and constricted between them, 

 dark green, occasionally marked purple. Seeds 3 to 6, about shape 

 and size of Dreer Lima (Ferry), shape between kidney and lima 

 (Mich. Sta.), that is, very broad oval with straight eye-line, about 

 3 _■ inch long, three-fourths as wide, quite plump, marked like Dwarf 

 Horticultural, but ground color slightly darker. 



Italian Pole. Breck of Boston listed this variety 

 for several years. Seed has been grown at Geneva for 

 three years; and while it is of a horticultural type, it is 

 not the same as any of old familiar " Horts." During 

 the last five years there have been several new " Italian " 

 beans offered. The description offered is taken from 

 Breck's Italian Pole. The Italian bean of California is 

 a strain of Speckled Cranberry or London Horticultural. 



Plant climbing well, 4 ! > feet or more with spread of 2 feet at 

 base; foliage abundant, dark green, leaflets somewhat crumpled, 

 slightly rough, medium veined, medium thick. Flowers phlox pink. 



Pods much like those of Lazy Wife, 43-5 to 5 inches, broad, 

 straight to slightly curved, quite plump, brittle, stringless, almost 

 fiberless, with fairly thick walls, medium in texture and of more than 

 fair quality; light green in color, " silky " or silvered, not so spotted 



or splashed with red as American types; but developing rather late 

 a marked rustlike bright carmine color which gives a pleasing appear- 

 ance. Seeds are nearly as large as those of Worcester and attractively 

 marked either green or dry. Color a dark background with broad 

 zebra markings, one usually over dorsum, that are of a bronzy or 

 greenish brown color which darkens to seal brown without red. 



King Horticultural. Refs. 48, 91. Syns. Hamp- 

 den, Mammoth Podded Horticultural, Mug Wump, 

 New Zealand Runner Kidney Bean, Worcester. This 

 bean was grown by a market gardener near Worcester, 

 Mass., for several years and was introduced in 1894 

 and 1895 by several seedsmen under different names. 

 Of these, Gregory's Mammoth Carmine Podded Horti- 

 cultural has apparent priority, but owing to its length 

 and its similarity to names of other pole and dwarf 

 varieties, the name Worcester, used by W. W. Raw- 

 son, and based on the place of origin, was favored for 

 many years. The name King Horticultural has become 

 more popular in recent years and is used in New York 

 State. It is a late variety, only fairly productive but 

 not especially subject to disease. It has increased in 

 popularity since 1906, but at present is little grown 

 except in eastern Massachusetts and New York. 



This is the largest-podded and largest-seeded of the Horti- 

 cultural beans, and most attractively colored and most showy in 

 pod. It is most like Early Horticultural, but with longer pods, 

 reaching 6 or sometimes 7 inches, much swollen over the seeds, 

 which are often 7 in number, 2, 3 inch long, nearly three-fourths as 

 wide and about two-thirds as thick, colored like those of London 

 Horticultural, about 40 to the ounce. 



London Horticultural. Refs. 10, 12, 13, 15, 20, 



43, 44, 48, 52, 59, 63, 67, 68, 77, 91, 97, 98. Syns. 

 Arancauo, Bird-Egg Bean, Cherry Pole, Horticultural 

 Cranberry Pole, Housewives Delight, Moro, Scipio Pole, 

 Speckled Cranberry, Wrens Egg. This variety, under 

 some of its names, is probably our earliest horticultural 

 type bean. Hendry of the California Station says it is 

 evidently the Arancano of Chile. If this is the case, the 

 bean undoubtedly came into the East in trading vessels 

 and probably went to Europe in the same way, where it 

 became known to Savi and later to Martens. It was 

 certainly known before 1860 in the United States, the 

 earliest date given by Tracy and Jarvis. Burr says it 

 came to America from England about 1825. It is 

 undoubtedly the most popular, and probably the best 

 of the tall horticulturals. The use of the name Horti- 

 cultural Pole and other synonyms for varieties other 

 than London Horticultural make it impossible to fix 

 the exact range of popularity. 



It was grown at this Station in 1882 as Horticultural 

 (London Horticultural) and as Cranberry, which Wing 

 considered identical, though data show the latter decid- 

 edly earlier and less productive. In recent tests London 

 Horticultural, Horticultural Pole, and Horticultural or 

 Cranberry from different sources were included. These 

 showed varietal similarity, with slight strain differences 

 mainly in size of seeds. Those of Horticultural Pole 

 were largest, approaching those of Worcester, but the 

 shortness of the pods excluded it from that variety. 

 Season, about 80 days for the shell beans. A new 

 strain called Improved London Horticultural is about 



