78 



THE VEGETABLES OF NEW YORK 



Kidney, produced in pods 3 3 4 to 4'» inches long, rather narrow, 

 regularly curved, slightly constricted, blunt ended, with short, 

 slender, curved tip. The plants are l 1 ^ to ljo feet tall, with many 

 slender branches and vines sometimes reaching 5 feet, forming straw 

 which live stock readily eats. 



Ground Bird. Corn, beans, and squashes were 

 the principal vegetable foods of the Iroquois Indians of 

 New York. Many varieties of beans have been pre- 

 served by the Indians and are still cultivated and used 

 by them as food plants. Several of these varieties were 

 secured from Chief Walter Kennedy of the Alleghany 

 Reservation at Salamanca, N. Y., and have been grown 

 at Geneva. In color of seed they are quite unlike any 

 of the dwarf varieties now commonly grown. They 

 proved to be hardy in growth and very productive. 

 The origin of these types is unknown, but they were 

 undoubtedly grown in pre-Columbian times by the 

 Indians and perhaps found their way northward from 

 South American countries. New York State Museum 

 Bulletin 144, 1910, " Iroquois Uses of Maize and other 

 Food Plants," by Arthur C. Parker, contains much 

 interesting information on the early food plants of the 

 region. The following sentences are quoted, " Beans 

 next to corn were regarded as a favorite food and 

 quantities are still eaten. The Iroquois have 10 or 

 more varieties of beans which they claim are ancient 

 species which have long been cultivated." 



Plant dwarf, 12-14 inches tall, spread 15-18 inches, drooping, 

 semi-trailing. Stem medium size, round near base, slightly angular 

 on upper portion, moderately smooth, occasionally slightly ridged. 

 Internodes short. Branches medium number, both basal and 

 medial in position. Foliage abundant, moderately dark, glossy 

 green; wrinkled, pubescence medium. Leaflets moderately small, 

 broad i3 x 4 inches). Stipules medium, tips short, abruptly pointed. 

 Tendrils simple, medium, slightly curled, permanent. Flowers 

 (phlox purple) begin at 5th node, single or in pairs. Peduncle 

 short, slender. 



Pods borne intermediate and above the foliage; green (Kil- 

 dare green), occasionally showing fine flecking with deep crimson 

 and purple similar to markings on horticultural beans. Quality 

 poor, moderately brittle, stringy, coarse and tough. Moderately 

 short, medium width, slender (4-5 x ys x tV - A inches) containing 

 5-6 seeds per pod. Flat, long oval in cross-section, straight, 

 straight backed, regular, not crowded, smooth, filled to the tip 

 and edge and rounded to blunt on the end. Spur short, slender, 

 straight to slightly curved. Suture, placental flattened and carpel- 

 lary. acute. 



Seeds small, 1.1 x .75 x .6 cm. (106 per oz.); shape short oval, 

 plump, cross-section moderately broad oval, ends abruptly rounded. 

 Hilum flat, medium. Color dull white, sparsely speckled with 

 greenish gray (dark glaucous-gray), irregular shaped dots over the 

 entire surface and marked with a narrow, buff (cinnamon-buff) 

 colored eye-ring. 



Ilatt New. Refs. 84, 85. Jack Hatt of Argentine, 

 Mich., selected and introduced three varieties shortly 

 before 1890. The lot tested at Geneva produced plants 

 and seeds exceedingly like French Flageolet. 



Plants tall, growing better with support; foliage dark green; 

 leaflets of medium size; pods flat, 4 to 6 inches long, decidedly 

 curved; beans large, " half-round ", white. 



Hidatsa Red. Syn. Red Indian. The history and 

 uses of this native bean are the same as those of Arikara 

 Yellow, the principal difference being in the seeds, those 

 of Hidatsa Red being a rich glossy wine red or dark 



purplish crimson as compared to the yellow seeds of 

 Arikara. Oscar Will introduced Hidatsa as Red Indian, 

 later renaming it for one of the Mandan Indian tribes. 

 The Red is said to be a better cropper than the Yellow, 

 but the beans are not quite so good in flavor. The dried 

 beans of Hidatsa Red are indistinguishable from those 

 of Red Mexican. Both have white flowers, but plants 

 of Hidatsa are early, practically runnerless, have small 

 leaflets, and short pods. Red Mexican plants are late, 

 viny, with heavier foliage, and longer pods. 



Pods borne mostly below foliage; medium green in color; 

 quality poor, stringy, fibrous, tough and coarse in texture. Size 

 short, quite broad and plump (3 J £-4 x } i x 3 s inches), containing 

 4-5 seeds per pod. Shape flat, oval in cross-section, straight to 

 slightly curved, straight backed, constricted, not crowded, rather 

 wrinkled, filled to the tip and edge and rounded to somewhat trun- 

 cate at the end. Spur short, slender and recurved. Suture, 

 placental is flattened and carpellary, moderately obtuse. 



Seeds small, 1.2 x .8 x .5 cm. (110-115 per oz.); very broad 

 oval, almost rectangular, rather flattened, long oval in cross-section; 

 ends truncate to abruptly rounded. Hilum medium, flattened to 

 slightly indented. Color reddish purple (Corinthian purple to 

 bordeaux) over the entire surface but increasing in intensity on the 

 hilar and dorsal surface, and marked with a very narrow, black 

 eye-ring. 



Hubbardston. The 1922 catalog of Childs first 

 carried the description of this new bean which was said 

 to be " earlier than Navy Pea or Yellow Eye, fine as a 

 dry bean for baking, having a combined flavor of beans 

 and peas." Seeds received here in 1922 were larger, 

 shorter, and slightly darker than those of Sulphur, 

 having a distinct brownish shade. 



Indian Bean. This is another of the old Indian 

 varieties. Plants larger than Ground Bird, but more 

 erect and with fewer trailing branches. The seeds are 

 large and with very individual markings. In the type 

 of marking they resemble seed of Jacob's Cattle, but 

 the color is darker and the size larger. 



Plant dwarf, 16-18 inches tall, spread in row 12-14 inches; 

 erect growth, intermediate between Ground Bird and Red Face 

 in branching habit, good vigor, productive. Stem stout, round, 

 smooth, slightly ridged above base. Internodes moderately short. 

 Foliage medium, medium dull light green; leaf surface moderately 

 smooth; moderately thick, medium veined. Leaflets moderately 

 large, long, 4J^-4J^ x 2J^— 3 inches. Tip medium, tapering. 

 Stipules moderately large, tendrils simple, medium, little curled, 

 and permanent. Flowers white, borne in pairs often singly. 



Pods borne both intermediate among the foliage and above; 

 moderately dull light green (Chrysolite green). Quality fair; 

 brittle, stringless but coarse in texture. Size moderately long, 

 broad and slender (6-7 x 3^-rV x J4 - rV inches) containing 5-6 

 seeds per pod. Shape flat, long oval in cross-section, straight 

 slightly creasebacked, regular, not crowded, filled to the edge 

 but not to the tip and rounded at the end. Spur, medium long, 

 moderately thick and straight. Suture, placental slightly indented 

 and carpellary, acute. 



Seeds large, 1.8 x .9 x .7 cm. (42 per oz.); shape long, sub- 

 reniform, cross-section long oval, somewhat flattened. Ends 

 rounded, hilum small, flat. Color dull white, spotted and blotched 

 on ventral surface with buff (salmon color), dull pink (etruscan 

 red) and deep purple (indian purple), the latter color predomi- 

 nating. The spots also occur as disk-like markings on the dorsal 

 surface, but on the ventral, the coloring is solid with no white 

 showing. 



Jacob's Cattle. This bean with such unusual seed 

 color is of unknown origin and quite local distribution 



