The Sabre Bean is remarkably productive; the young pods are crisp and tender, excellent for table use, and good for pickling; the seeds, green or dry, are farinaceous, and of delicate flavor and appearance.

In height and foliage, size and form of the pods, color and size of the ripe seeds, it resembles the Case-knife. The princ.i.p.al difference between the varieties is in the earlier maturity of the Sabre.

SOISSONS. _Vil._

Introduced from France. Stem six feet or more high; foliage large, broad, wrinkled; flowers white; the pods are eight inches long, three-fourths of an inch broad, sword-shaped, yellowish-green when near maturity, yellowish-white when ripe, and contain six or seven seeds.

The variety requires the whole season for its full perfection. If planted early, it blossoms in nine weeks, produces young pods in eleven weeks, and ripens off in gradual succession till the plants are destroyed by frost. If cultivated for its young pods, plantings may be made to the last week in June.

The ripe seeds are remarkably large,--often measuring nearly an inch in length and half an inch in breadth,--pure, glossy-white, kidney-shaped, and generally irregularly compressed. Seven hundred are contained in a quart, and will plant about eighty hills.

The young pods, while quite young and small, are crisp and tender, and the ripe seeds are farinaceous and well flavored. It is also an excellent sort for sh.e.l.ling in the green state; but the plants are not hardy, and thrive well only in warm soil and sheltered situations. Under ordinary culture, many of the pods are imperfect, and frequently contain but two or three seeds.

WHITE CRANBERRY.

Stem five or six feet high; flowers white; the pods are five inches and a half long, pale-green while young, striped and marbled with red when near maturity, yellowish-buff when ripe, and contain five or six beans.

It is not an early variety. From plantings made at the usual season, young pods may be gathered in about nine weeks, pods for sh.e.l.ling green in twelve weeks, and ripened beans in a hundred and five days. For stringing, or for sh.e.l.ling in a green state, the variety may be planted the first of July; but, in ordinary seasons, few of the pods will reach maturity.

The ripe seeds are white, egg-shaped, sometimes nearly spherical, half an inch long, and three-eighths of an inch in breadth and thickness. In size, form, and color, they strongly resemble the Dwarf White Marrow; and are not easily distinguished from the seeds of that variety. About twelve hundred and fifty are contained in a quart, and will plant a hundred and twenty-five hills.

The White Cranberry is hardy, yields well, and the young pods are tender and well flavored. For sh.e.l.ling green, it is decidedly one of the best of all varieties; and for baking, or otherwise cooking, is, when ripe, fully equal to the Pea-bean or White Marrow.

WILD-GOOSE.

Plant seven or eight feet high, of healthy, vigorous habit; flowers bright-purple; the pods are sickle-shaped, pale-green at first, cream-yellow streaked and marbled with purple when ripe, and contain six seeds, closely set together.

The variety requires the entire season for its full perfection. When planted early, it will blossom in nine weeks, produce young pods in eleven weeks, green beans in thirteen weeks, and ripen in a hundred and twenty days. If planted and grown under the influence of summer weather, the plants will blossom in seven weeks, yield young pods in nine weeks, green beans in twelve weeks, and ripen in a hundred days. Plantings for the green seeds may be made to the middle of June, and for the young pods to the first of July.

The ripe beans are pale cream-white, spotted with deep purplish-black (the cream-white gradually changing by age to cinnamon-brown), round-ovoid, four-tenths of an inch long, and about three-eighths of an inch in width and thickness. A quart contains nearly seventeen hundred seeds, and will plant two hundred hills.

The variety has been long cultivated both in Europe and this country. It is hardy and productive. The young pods are of fair quality; and the seeds, green or ripe, are excellent for table use, in whatever form prepared.

YELLOW CRANBERRY.

Five to six feet high, with yellowish-green foliage and pale-purple flowers: the pods are five inches long, three-fourths of an inch broad, often sickle-shaped; pale-green at first; cream-yellow, shrivelled, and irregular in form, like those of the Red variety, at maturity; and contain five or six seeds.

It is a few days later than the White Cranberry, and nearly two weeks later than the Red. Planted at the commencement of the season, it will blossom in eight weeks, yield pods for the table in about ten weeks, pods for sh.e.l.ling in twelve or thirteen weeks, and ripen in a hundred and ten days. Early summer-plantings will blossom in seven weeks, produce pods for the table in less than nine weeks, and ripen in about a hundred days. When grown for the ripened crop, it should have the advantage of the entire season; but, when cultivated for its young pods, plantings may be made till the first of July.

Seeds yellow, with a narrow, dark line encircling the hilum: round-ovoid, half an inch long, and three-eighths of an inch in breadth and thickness: thirteen hundred and fifty are contained in a quart, and will plant a hundred and twenty-five hills.

The variety is hardy and prolific; of good quality as a string-bean, or for sh.e.l.ling in the green state. When ripe, the seeds are nearly equal to the White Marrow for baking, though the color is less agreeable.

ASPARAGUS-BEAN.

Long-podded Dolichos. Dolichos sesquipedalis.

The Asparagus-bean, in its manner of growth, inflorescence, and in the size and character of its pods, is quite distinct from the cla.s.s of beans before described. It is a native of Tropical America, and requires a long, warm season for its full perfection.

The stem is from six to seven feet high; the leaves are long, narrow, smooth, and shining; the flowers are large, greenish-yellow, and produced two or three together at the extremity of quite a long peduncle; the pods are nearly cylindrical, pale-green, pendent, and grow with remarkable rapidity,--when fully developed, they are eighteen or twenty inches long, and contain eight or nine seeds.

These should be sown as early in spring as the appearance of settled warm weather; and the plants will then blossom in ten or eleven weeks, afford pods for use in fourteen weeks, and ripen off their crop in gradual succession until destroyed by frost.

The ripe seeds are cinnamon-brown, with a narrow, dark line about the hilum; kidney-shaped, half an inch long, and a fourth of an inch broad: nearly four thousand are contained in a quart, and will plant four hundred and fifty hills.

The seeds are quite small, and are rarely eaten, either in a green or ripe state. The variety is cultivated exclusively for its long, peculiar pods, which are crisp, tender, of good flavor, and much esteemed for pickling. It is, however, much less productive than many of the running kinds of garden-beans, and must be considered more curious than really useful.

LIMA BEAN.

Phaseolus lunatus.

Stem ten feet or more in height; leaves comparatively long and narrow, smooth and shining; flowers small, greenish-yellow, in spikes; the pods are four inches and a half long, an inch and a quarter broad, much flattened, green and wrinkled while young, yellowish when ripe, and contain three or four beans.

The Lima is one of the latest, as well as one of the most tender, of all garden-beans; and seldom, if ever, entirely perfects its crop in the Northern States. Little will be gained by very early planting; as the seeds are not only liable to decay before vegetating, but the plants suffer greatly from cold, damp weather. In the Northern and Eastern States, the seeds should not be planted in the open ground before the beginning of May; nor should the planting be delayed beyond the tenth or middle of the month. In ordinary seasons, the Lima Bean will blossom in eight or nine weeks, and pods may be plucked for use the last of August, or beginning of September. Only a small proportion of the pods attain a sufficient size for use; a large part of the crop being prematurely destroyed by frost.

The ripe seeds are dull-white or greenish-white, with veins radiating from the eye; broad, kidney-shaped, much flattened, seven-eighths of an inch long, and two-thirds of an inch broad. A quart contains about seven hundred seeds, and will plant eighty hills.

The pods are tough and parchment-like in all stages of their growth, and are never eaten. The seeds, green or ripe, are universally esteemed for their peculiar flavor and excellence; and, by most persons, are considered the finest of all the garden varieties. If gathered when suitable for use in their green state, and dried in the pods in a cool and shaded situation, they may be preserved during the winter. When required for use, they are sh.e.l.led, soaked a short time in clear water, and cooked as green beans: thus treated, they will be nearly as tender and well flavored as when freshly plucked from the plants.

The seeds are sometimes started on a hot-bed, in thumb-pots, or on inverted turf, or sods, cut in convenient pieces; and about the last of May, if the weather is warm and pleasant, transplanted to hills in the open ground.

By the following method, an early and abundant crop may be obtained in comparatively favorable seasons:--

"As soon in spring as the weather is settled, and the soil warm and in good working condition, set poles about six feet in length, three feet apart each way, and plant five or six beans in each hill; being careful to set each bean with its germ downward, and covering an inch deep.

After they have grown a while, and before they begin to run, pull up the weakest, and leave but three of the most vigorous plants to a hill. As these increase in height, they should, if necessary, be tied to the stakes, or poles, using ba.s.s-matting, or other soft, fibrous material, for the purpose. When they have ascended to the tops of the poles, the ends should be cut or pinched off; as also the ends of all the branches, whenever they rise above that height. This practice checks their liability to run to vines, and tends to make them blossom earlier, and bear sooner and more abundantly, than they otherwise would do."

In tropical climates, the Lima Bean is perennial.

GREEN LIMA.

A sub-variety of the Common Lima, differing princ.i.p.ally in the pea-green color of the seeds.

As generally found in the market, the seeds of the Common and Green Lima are more or less intermixed. By some, the Green is considered more tender, and thought to remain longer on the plants without becoming hard, than the White. The habits of the plants are the same, and there is no difference in the season of maturity. A careful selection of seeds for planting, and skilful culture, would undoubtedly give a degree of permanency to this difference in color; which appears to be the princ.i.p.al, if not the only, point of variation.

MOTTLED LIMA.

This, like the Green, is a sub-variety of the Common Lima. The ripe seeds are dull-white or greenish-white, mottled and clouded with purple.