1 Ocr., 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 259 
conditions prevailing there, as, though their growth has not been as rapid 
as that of the Velvet Bean, it has been heavier, and they have continued their 
growth and produced blossoms and seed throughout the winter. The Velvet 
Bean, on the other hand, died after ripening its fruit ; and the Black Mauritius 
Bean, though it has ripened its fruit during the winter, has made little if any 
growth, and has lost a large part of its foliage. The pulses I will deal with 
first are varieties of Phaseolus lunatus, the well-known Lima Bean, and of 
these varieties the one that has done the best is one that I obtained from 
Macknade Plantation at the same time that I obtained the Black Mauritius 
Bean I have already described, and was given to me by Mr. Farquhar, of the 
Colonial Sugar Company, as the Small Mauritius Bean, as distinct from the 
large or Black Mauritius Bean. ; 
SMALL MAURITIUS BEAN. 
The seeds of this bean were sown on the 13th of December last, single 
seeds being sown 8 feet apart each way; they were not staked. The preparation 
of the land was similar to that given in the case of the beans already described, 
so I need not repeat it, but will refer to the previous numbers of this Journal 
(Vol. III., pt. 2, p. 151). 
The growth at first was somewhat slow, but, as soon as the plants com- 
menced to run, the growth was rapid and the vines soon covered the ground 
with a mass of stems and foliage through which no weeds could grow. No 
flowers appeared before May, and the first blossoms were infertile, no pods 
setting before July. Since then the plants have bloomed profusely, and set a 
large number of pods containing from three to four seeds in each. The seeds 
are similar in shape to the Common Lima Bean, but are smaller and vary in 
colour from a yellowish-white to a mahogany-brown, various coloured seeds 
being found in the same pod. The bulk of the seeds are, however, of a 
yellowish-white colour with veins of pale pink showing through the skin, but 
a large number are more or less mottled. The seeds are a good vegetable, 
used in the same way as the Lima Bean. Where a crop of seeds is required, 
this bean should be grown on a trellis, as it fruits much better off than when 
allowed to trail on the ground; a portion of some of the plants that climbed. 
oyer adjacent fruit trees proving this. 
This bean will, in my opinion, prove to be one of the most valuable pulses 
to grow for green-crop manuring on the red volcanic soils of coastal Queens-. 
Jand, as it produces a dense mass of foliage, and seems to stand the heat and. 
excessive moisture of summer Cad the comparative dryness and cold of winter 
equally well. I have no doubt that it will also make an excellent fodder if dried 
and made into hay, though on account of the smail quantity available I have: 
not been able to test it in this respect, but hope to do so during this coming 
season, as I intend extending its cultivation and, amongst others, testing its 
qualities as a green manure for bananas and other crops. 
HORTICULTURAL LIMA, OR MADAGASCAR BEAN. 
The second pulse of this species, that has been tested, is the variety known 
as the Madagascar Bean, or Horticultural Lima (Phaseolus lunatus, var. 
inamenus), a bean that is well known in this colony, but which is deserving of 
much more extensive cultivation than it receives at present, as it is a most 
valuable vegetable—the seeds, used either green or in their dried state, forming 
a very palatable and highly nutritious food. The unripe beans are cooked in 
a similar manner to broad beans, but the dried beans require soaking for 
twenty-four hours previous to use.* The immature pods may also be used as 
French beans, but it is a pity to use them in this manner, as the unripe beans 
are a much better vegetable. 
* The excellence of the ripe bean as a vegetable is undeniable.—Ed. Q.A.J. 
