CATALOGUE AND DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES. 



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17332. Asparagus bean. Progeny of 8354, from Morioka, Japan. Plants pro- 



cumbent, very viny. forming a mass 12 inches bigh, 2 to 3 feet 

 broad ; stems medium coarse with few trailing branches, these 4 to 

 7 feet broad; leaflets dark, much affected with rust, and a little 

 with leaf-spot ; flowers pale violet purple ; moderately prolific ; pods 

 much inflated, green, not becoming pale, 16 to 30 inches long, the 

 first maturing in about 65 days; seeds dull black, 4 to 5 by 8 to 

 10 mm. Quite distinct from 20006 and 6311, which also have black 

 seeds, but unpromising. 



17333. Grecian. The progeny of 6431, from Athens, Greece. The original seed 



of this is exactly like the original seed of 16167. and the 1909 

 progeny of seeds is also like that of 16167. The plants are identi- 

 cal in habit and earliness of maturity. 

 17333B. Buff seeds mixed in 6431. Somewhat procumbent, moderately vigor- 

 ous, viny, the row mass 14 inches high, 2 feet broad; trailing 

 branches 3 to 4 feet long ; leaflets medium sized, immune to rust, 

 but considerably subject to red leaf-spot; flowers pale violet 

 purple ; prolific ; pods straw colored, well filled, held medium high, 

 5 inches long, the first maturing in about 85 days; seeds pinkish 

 buff, subreniform, about 6 by 7 mm. A prolific, medium-early 

 variety, but not of much value. 



17334. Ghroit. From the Iowa Seed Co., Des Moines, Iowa, March, 1903. Plants 



suberect, half bushy, vigorous, the row mass 24 to 26 inches high, 

 3 feet broad; trailing branches rather few, 2 to 4 feet long; leaf- 

 lets medium in size and color, immune to rust and considerably 

 affected by white leaf-spot ; flowers violet purple ; very prolific ; 

 pods well filed, held high, very pale straw color, almost straight, 

 7 to 9 inches long, the first maturing in about 80 days ; seeds 

 rhomboid, about 6 by 8 mm., with a ground color of buff, marbled 

 with brown and thickly sprinkled with minute blue specks. Identi- 

 cal with the above and from the same source is 17347; also 17403 

 from T. W. Wood & Sons, Richmond, Va. ; 17411, " a selection from 

 New Era " from the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, 

 through Prof. C. L. Newman in 1904; 25078 and 26497 from 

 Coulterville. 111.; and 0720 from Mr. J. C. Little, Louisville, Ga. 

 The Groit cowpea is unquestionably a hybrid between New Era and 

 Whippoorwill ; indeed this hybrid has been made artificially by 

 Mr. G. W. Oliver, who produced a plant with the seeds exactly 

 like Groit. It is probable that the Groit originated spontaneously, 

 the first authentic record that we have of it being the seed ob- 

 tained in 1903 from the Iowa Seed Co. as New Era. This lot is 

 said to have been grown by Mr, J. C. Little, of Louisville, Ga., who 

 did not at the time notice that it was distinct from New Era. 

 Groit has been much confused with New Era, all of the above lots 

 having been obtained under the latter name. It also appears that 

 all the records concerning New Era, published by the Kansas 

 Agricultural Experiment Station, actually refer to Groit and it is 

 probable, in the light of our present knowledge, that most of the 

 New Era grown in the States of Illinois and Missouri is also really 

 the Groit. Groit is a most excellent cowpea, being in a general 

 way from 20 to 25 per cent superior to New Era, which variety 

 it is likely largely to replace. The Groit has been extensively 

 tested during the past few years, and over practically the whole of 



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