52 



THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



narrow, and tender, and are produced in constant succession, 

 becoming the more abundant the more they are picked. The seed 

 is Hke that of the White Flageolet. 



Bonnemain Dwarf Kidney Bean. — This variety was raised 

 some years ago from seed by M. Bonnemain, secretary to the Etampes 



Horticultural Society, and 

 we class it among the 

 Flageolets because it re- 

 sembles them in size, earli- 

 ness, and in having white 

 seeds ; but that it is totally 

 distinct from all the other 

 varieties can be seen at a 

 glance. It forms very low- 

 growing, thick-set clumps, 

 with leaves of a pale gray- 

 green and white flowers ; 

 pods straight, almost cylin- 

 drical, shorter and more 

 slender than those of the 

 Kidney Bean ; seeds white, 

 egg - shaped, thicker, and 

 with less of the kidney 

 outline than those of the 

 White Flageolet. They are 

 green until they ripen. The 

 • ^ rrr-j . .1 grcat mcrlt of this variety 



Bonnemain Dwarf Kidney Bean (plant, ^; • . • h i 



pods, i; and seed, full natural size). COnsiStS m itS Unequalled 



earliness, the seeds being 

 ripe for shelling five or six days sooner than those of the Early 

 Etampes Flageolet, which was at one time considered the earliest 

 of all. We have obtained very satisfactory results from growing 

 the Bonnemain Kidney Bean in the open air, while its small size 

 and great earliness make it most suitable for frame culture. It is 

 certain to become one of the most esteemed varieties for producing 

 an early crop. 



Long Green-seeded Flageolet Bean. — The first green seeds 

 of the Flageolet Beans may have originated by the mere accident 

 of some one pulling a few pods before their complete maturity and 

 allowing them to dry in the shade. However, it is indisputable 

 that by careful observation and selection the Paris growers have 

 succeeded in obtaining certain strains in which the green colora- 

 tion of the seed not only exists, but has moreover a tendency 

 to last, given appropriate treatment. We are going to give a 

 description of the more interesting of these strains, all of which 

 are derived more or less directly from the original green-seeded 



