102 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. XXXI, No. 2 
given the names advertised by the seedsmen introducing them. All 
foreign varieties are listed by the names accompanying the original 
importation and, excepting the standard European sorts, also the 
seed and plant introduction number (S. P. I. No.) of the Office of 
Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction of the Bureau of Plant Industry 
through which they were obtained. Information on the European 
varieties can be readily secured by consulting the accredited seeds¬ 
men’s catalogues for the years during which the tests were made; 
or, better, standard horticultural treatises, such as Denaiffe (4), and 
Robinson (10 ), who give also the synonymy. Some of the varieties 
here included are no longer listed by seedsmen. All lots were care¬ 
fully examined for trueness to name and very few showed mixtures 
or sports. 
The foreign varieties described by European horticulturists and 
given English and American names synonymous with standard 
American varieties are for the most part identical with the American 
varieties of the same name, as shown by a comparison of the European 
description with the descriptions of Tracy (9), Irish (5), and Jarvis 
(6), as well as from the writers’ field observations. Occasionally, 
however, the descriptions do not agree, and the European and 
American varieties of the same name are obviously different. Even 
where they are apparently identical in horticultural characteristics, 
the reaction to disease may be different, and, for the purposes of this 
study, they are treated separately. 
Wnere no name accompanied the original importation there is 
given a short description of the seed, based on samples from the 
original packet. Since many of the non-European foreign varieties 
were purchased in native markets, varietal mixtures and hybrids 
were common. Of special interest in this connection is the large 
assortment of brilliantly colored and variegated types grown by the 
natives of East Africa, particularly of Urundi Province. Among the 
beans from this source were many of obviously hybrid origin, as shown 
by their segregation into various types following the first planting in 
this country. Except where the amount of crossing was slight, the 
tests on the samples containing volunteer hybrids have not been pub¬ 
lished. The mixtures and hybrids were in all cases separated as 
far as possible from the “type” seed, but in many instances were not 
tested until 1923, when a larger field plot was available. 
Since the original samples in many cases were small, it was neces¬ 
sary to save seed each year from the test rows in order to continue 
the work. The small percentage of volunteer hybrids resulting from 
this practice have been largely eliminated by subsequent selection 
in cases where the variety proved to be of value. Many of the purely 
tropical varieties failed to mature seed in the latitude of Lansing, 
Mich., and were later grown for increase purposes in Florida. To 
what extent the excessive vegetative growth of such types at Lansing 
may have influenced their natural resistance or susceptibility to the 
various diseases is not known. 
DISEASES INCLUDED IN RESISTANCE STUDIES 
Attention has been directed principally toward the discovery of 
varieties or strains of varieties possessing resistance to bacterial 
blight (Bacterium phaseoli E. F. S.) and to the various biologic forms 
of the anthracnose fungus (Colletotrichum lindemuthianum (Sacc. 
