Variegated Dwarf Prague.
Stem about sixteen inches high; plant of vigorous, branching habit; flowers purple; pods five inches long, green while young, but changing to yellow, marbled and streaked with brilliant rose-red, when sufficiently advanced for shelling in their green state. At maturity, the clear, pale-yellow is changed to brownish-white, and the bright-red variegations are either entirely obliterated, or changed to dull, dead purple. If well formed, the pods contain five (rarely six) seeds.
It is a medium or half-early sort; and, if planted as soon as the weather becomes favorable, will blossom in seven weeks, produce pods for the table in about eight weeks, and ripen in ninety-five or a hundred days. Planted and grown in summer weather, the variety will produce green pods in seven weeks, and ripen in ninety days.
The ripe seeds resemble those of the running variety in form and color; but they are smaller, a little more slender, and usually flattened slightly at the sides. When pure, they are egg-shaped; and a much compressed or a longer and more slender form is indicative of degeneracy. Fourteen hundred beans are contained in a quart; and this quantity of seed will be sufficient for planting a row of a hundred and seventy-five feet, or a hundred and forty hills.
The Dwarf Horticultural Bean is quite productive, and the young pods are tender and of good quality. It is, however, not so generally cultivated for its young pods as for its seeds, which are much esteemed for their mild flavor and farinaceous quality. For shelling in the green state, it is one of the best of the Dwarfs, and deserves cultivation.
Dwarf Sabre.
Dwarf Case-knife. Dwarf Cimeter.
A half-dwarf, French variety, two and a half to three feet high. As the running shoots are quite slender, and usually decay before the crop matures, it is always cultivated as other Dwarf sorts. Foliage large, wrinkled, and blistered; the flowers are white; the pods are very large, seven to eight inches long, and an inch in width, often irregular and distorted, green while young, paler as the season of maturity approaches, brownish-white when ripe, and contain seven or eight seeds.
The ripe bean is white, kidney-shaped, flattened, often twisted or contorted, three-fourths of an inch in length, and three-eighths of an inch in width: about twelve hundred are contained in a quart. As the variety is a vigorous grower, and occupies much space, this quantity of seed will plant a row of two hundred feet, or two hundred and twenty-five hills.
Season intermediate. The plants blossom in seven weeks, produce young pods in about eight weeks, pods for shelling in their green state in eleven or twelve weeks, and ripen in ninety-seven days, from the time of sowing. If cultivated for its green pods, the seeds may be planted to the middle of July.