DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES 



85 



Yellow Eyed China also conveys the idea of a bean 

 quite prominently colored about the eye, somewhat 

 " butterfly marked." There are but three varieties of 

 the Yellow Eye bean that are of commercial importance. 

 The Improved Yellow Eye (or Molasses Face) is the 

 variety most commonly called for in the Boston market. 



Seed, medium large to large, slightly less than s £ of an inch, 

 proportionately broad, plump, width \ _> of the length, rounded at 

 each end, no taper at either end, straight at eye. Color, outside the 

 eve. clear opaque white, eye pattern large and should cover about 

 one-fourth the area. Viewed from top should show a very narrow 

 margin of white on all sides of eye with exception of anterior end 

 (micropyle) where color may extend farther towards the lower 

 surface, color surrounding hilum may be slightly darker. 



Old -Fashioned Yellow Eye is grown in Maine 

 and Vermont and the claim is made by many that this 

 strain bakes much better and has a better flavor than 

 any other. 



Seed, slightly more flattened laterally than the Improved, 

 slight taper towards anterior end, which end is also slightly trun- 

 cated, dorsal side rounded and taper towards the anterior end. 

 Ground color clear, opaque white; pattern, three color areas, the 

 first, a rather narrow strip of pigment extending anteriorly from the 

 front of micropyle to apex of bean; second, surrounding the micro- 

 pyle and extending in form of horse-shoe around anterior end of hilum 

 may or may not unite with anterior stripe; third extends posteriorly, 

 almost to posterior edge of bean, posterior edge often forked, starting 

 behind caruncle two rather broad wings extend forward along sides 

 of hilum. These wings should not unite with color area surrounding 

 the micropyle. 



Imperial Yellow Eye or Dot Eye is the last important 

 type and is named because the markings consist of two 

 small dots or blotches of color on either side of the 

 hilum. This type is gaining in popularity and is also 

 favored by some packers. For an extended treatise on 

 the Yellow Eye see the account in Pearson and Surface 

 in Maine Agr. Exp. Station Bui. No. 239, 1915. 



Plant either erect or trailing according to the strain, leaflets 

 large, dark green, thick surface rough, crumpled, terminal widest 

 \i distance from base, straight sided, long taper to slender point, 

 side leaflets, unequal sided, straight across base, taper to long 

 curved tip. Flowers white. 



Pods borne below foliage; also to some extent in the lower leaf 

 axils of runners. Light waxy green in color. Quality poor, very 

 tough and stringy, quite fibrous and coarse in texture. Size medium 

 long, broad and rather slender, (4^2-5 x Jg-J^ x -fg inches), contain- 

 ing 5-6 seeds per pod. Shape flat, long oval in cross-section, straight 

 or slightly curved, straight backed, slightly constricted, fairly 

 crowded, smooth, filled to the tip and rounded at the end. Spur 

 long, slender, straight or slightly curved. Suture, placental is flat 

 and carpellary, acute. 



THE LIMA BEANS 

 The varieties of lima beans in cultivation today are 

 evenly divided between pole and dwarf types. Bailey, 

 1895-96, Ref. 7, 8, discussed the origin and introduction 

 of most of these varieties. The ancient history of the 

 lima bean is given in detail in a more recent publication 

 by Van Eseltine (Variation in the Lima Bean, 

 Phaseolus Lunatus L., as Illustrated by its Syn- 

 onomy. New York State Agr. Exp. Sta. Tech. 

 Bui. No. 182. 1931). A plant native to South 

 America, where it grows as a perennial, the lima bean 

 was introduced into the United States several times. 



One of the earliest introductions, recorded in 1824, was 

 made by Captain John Harris, U. S. N., who brought 

 some seed from Lima, Peru, and grew it on his farm at 

 Chester, N. Y. Before this time plants had been grown 

 in the South, being mentioned by Lawson in his voyage 

 to Carolina in 1700-08. These plants as found in 

 cultivation by the Indians and early settlers of Carolina 

 probably came from the West Indies. It is certain 

 that after 1825 the lima came into general cultivation 

 as a garden vegetable in the eastern states. 



The greatest impetus to the production of this 

 group of Phaseolus in America came when its possibilities 

 as a field crop for California was recognized. The first 

 recorded information on the lima in California (Hendry) 

 is an advertisement by H. McNally Company of San 

 Francisco in the Alta of 1855. In 1872 they were 

 tried in the Carpinteria Valley, and in 1875 they were 

 first grown for an eastern seed firm, Dexter M. Ferry. 

 About 1890 a strain known as Lewis originated on the 

 farm of Dozier Lewis, and became the one most com- 

 monly grown although thought to be a mixture of 

 several varieties. After the determined fact that 

 certain areas, particularly in Santa Barbara, Ventura, 

 Orange, Los Angeles, and San Diego Counties, Calif., 

 were well adapted to the growth of the lima, production 

 increased tremendously. Practically all of the dry 

 lima bean seed and all of the seed for eastern growing 

 is now produced in that region. Green shell limas are 

 produced as a garden crop in nearly every state in the 

 country, but the production of dry seed is a specialty 

 of California. 



The dwarf varieties as garden limas all appeared in 

 public during the decade of 1880 to 1890. They came 

 as sports from pole varieties and were popular from the 

 time of first introduction. The Henderson and Dreer 

 were introduced in 1889 and the Burpee in 1890. Stocks 

 of these three types, " sieva," " potato lima," and 

 " flat lima," had been grown for several years by 

 individuals and finally found their way to commercial 

 seedsmen. The only other dwarf variety which has 

 gained commercial importance is the Fordhook, a 

 potato lima type. 



The pole varieties of lima beans have been in culti- 

 vation for many years, but from time to time improved 

 strains earlier in season and with larger seeds have been 

 offered. The large flat types and the sievas occur in 

 the pole varieties as well as in the dwarfs, but the 

 potato type, with the exception of the Challenger, is 

 not so generally represented. While it is true that 

 19 varieties of pole limas and 13 varieties of dwarfs 

 have been described and that many other names occur 

 as synonyms, a study of individual seed catalogs will 

 show the relatively few varieties carried by any one 

 house. Inspection of these so-called varieties growing 

 in the field (both dwarfs and poles) shows only a few 

 distinct types. The true separatory characters between 

 many varieties of lima beans apparently well established 

 are exceedingly difficult to measure or describe definitely. 



