DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES 



77 



well above base, tapering evenly to tips without marked points. 

 Flowers lilac. 



Pods borne intermediate among the foliage; poor quality, 

 fairly tough, stringy and very fibrous — somewhat more desirable 

 from these standpoints when extremely young. Size long, broad 

 and medium slender i 5-6 x J •-•' „ x 3 s inches ), containing 5-6 seeds 

 per pod. Shape flat, long, ovate thru cross-section, very slightly 

 curved, straight backed, regular not crowded, fairly smooth, filled 

 to the tip and edge and rounded to slightly tapering on the end. 

 Spur long, medium slender and slightly curved. Suture, placental is 

 flattened and carpellary, acute. 



Seeds large, 1.7x.8x.5 cm. (45-50 per oz.); long reniform, 

 flattened: ends usually uniformly rounded but occasionally truncate. 

 Hilum small, flattened. Color shining dark red ' ox-blood red! 

 shading into a slightly darker tinge on the hilar surface, marked 

 with a narrow, inconspicuous, dark, brownish-maroon eye-ring. 



Chartres. Refs. 47, 93, 94, 98. Chartres appears 

 to have been grown in America only experimentally, 

 from French seed. Although Wing called it strictly 

 dwarf, other authorities agree in making it trailing in 

 habit, with many runners from 2 to 4 feet long, which, 

 however, cling poorly to poles. Therefore, it is nearly 

 always grown as a field bean. The green pods could be 

 eaten very early as snaps, but its principal use was for 

 dry shelling. In our tests it was rather later than White 

 Marrow, and unproductive. 



Pods 3} 2 to 4 ! o inches long, just under to just over } o inch 

 wide, curved with a slender, straight tip. Seeds same in length as 

 pods, ' 4 inch or more in width, and more than half as thick, with 

 truncate ends making an almost rectangular rather flat bean about 

 the size of Boston Marrow, deep wine red in color, with almost 

 black eye-ring. 



China Red Eye. Refs. 9, 13, 15, 27, 29, 41, 45, 

 47, 48, 49, 59, 63, 80, 91, 96. Syns. China, Chinese Date, 

 Early China, Early China Red Eye, Red Eye, Two 

 Colored China Dwarf. This old variety, grown in 

 America for at least a century and a quarter, is of un- 

 known origin. French and German authorities say it 

 came from America, Jarvis believed it of European 

 origin, and the name together with Savi's reference 

 indicate a Chinese source. It was once very widely 

 grown, at first as a garden bean and later for field cul- 

 ture. It is now grown only sparingly as a field bean, 

 being of too poor quality for snaps or green shell purposes 

 and will undoubtedly soon disappear. More than 40 

 American seedsmen listed it in 1907, but only 4 in 1921. 



Plant dwarf, erect, compact, runnerless, hardy, productive, 

 and moderately early; with leaflets medium to large, broad, short - 

 taperpointed tips, dark to medium green, thin, crumpled. Flowers 

 white. Pods long (4J4— 5} - inches;, rather slender, oval, usually 

 straight, constricted, with very long, slender tips, whitish green 

 changing to light yellow before maturing. 



Seeds intermediate in size between pea and marrow beans, 

 about 10 to the ounce, oblong with unequal, abruptly rounded ends, 

 nearly circular in cross-sections, sides almost straight but gently 

 tapering between large and small ends, white with oval or irregular 

 margin, sometimes nearly " butterfly-shaped " pinkish red to dark 

 red area about hilum, often extending as broad line partly over 

 smaller end of bean; not over one-fourth or one-third area, tho 

 formerly said to cover nearly half surface. 



Chilean Field. Refs. 13, 48, 91. This bean is 

 evidently a strain of the Chilean variety Coscarron 

 medio, brought from Chile as Lady Washington. 



Dakota Soup. Refs. 84, 85. From the only record 



we find of this bean, it was grown at the Michigan Station 

 in 1890 from seeds sent by Maule. 



Plant small, compact bush, bearing small straight pods 2 to 

 2J-4 inches long, with small, round dark yellow peas; early and 

 moderately productive. 



Day's Leafless Medium. Refs. 91. This variety 

 was first offered by E. F. Dibble of Honeoye Falls, N. Y., 

 in 1895, who had obtained the stock from the originator, 

 Wm. H. Day. In general characteristics it was heavily 

 productive, plant very spreading with many runners. 

 Flowers white. The seeds were intermediate between the 

 large size known as marrow and the small seeds known as 

 pea beans. Seed indistinguishable from those of Burlin- 

 game, both selling as York State Medium. 



Dwarf Rice. Refs. 13, 47, 56, 93, 94. This old 

 German variety with very small seeds was known to 

 Burr in 1863, to Irish in 1901, and was grown at this 

 Station under its German synonym in 1884. 



Plant semi-dwarf, 2 feet tall, with light green, " varnished " 

 foliage and white flowers. Pods very small, 3 inches long by 2 5- 

 inch wide containing 6 very small seeds, noticeably rice-like in 

 appearance and quite irregular in shape, sometimes oblong or ovoid, 

 often abruptly shortened 'j a inch long by 1 4 inch wide. The young 

 pods were quite tender, ready as snaps in about 10 weeks. The dry 

 seeds were rather like rice in consistency, with a peculiar brittle 

 texture liked by some, not by others. 



Extra Early Six Weeks. This bean, often known 

 as Drop Leaf, was grown in the East for some years 

 before 1892. It was said to be more productive than 

 Navy Pea, much earlier, and entirely rust -proof. 



Plants 1 to 1 ] 4 feet tall, compact; pods 5 to 6 inches long, 

 }-2 inch wide, slender, straight or slightly curved, green; seeds 4 to 

 6, slightly oblong, inclining to kidney-shape, rather flat, slightly 

 larger than those of Navy, white with rich brown eye-ring. 



French White. Refs. 48, 91. Peter Delphy, a 

 grower at Vista, Calif., secured seed of this strain from 

 France in 1902. It was later identified, presumably by 

 the seeds alone, as the French variety Quatre-a-Quatre 

 (Four-to-Four, from pods regularly in two-pair clusters). 

 But as this is a pole bean, the new bean imported by 

 Mr. Delphy seems more likely to be a strain of Nain 

 blanc Quarantain, which is very close to our Vineless 

 Marrow. So far as known, French White is grown 

 only in California, where the beans are marketed with 

 those of Lady Washington, although the seeds are more 

 plump and with obscure grayish areas on the sides. 

 They serve well for baking but are said to become too 

 soft in canning. 



Plants taller than those of Lady Washington, more vigorous 

 and more erect, and the leaflets are smoother and slightly smaller; 

 flowers appear earlier and continue longer; young pods are edible, 

 being nearly stringless. 



Great Northern. Refs. 43, 89, 91. This bean 

 came into public notice about 1907, when Will distributed 

 seed received from the Mandan Indians by whom it had 

 been long grown. Seed of it has been found buried in 

 mounds known to be centuries old. Where grown with 

 Navy bean it has proved hardier, earlier, and more pro- 

 ductive. Great Northern has proved to be well adapted 

 to growth in the irrigated sections of Montana. 



The seeds are similar to enlarged, rather lengthened Navy 

 beans, or intermediate in size and shape between Navy and White 



