Stem about eighteen inches high, sturdy and branching; foliage large, deep-green, wrinkled, and blistered; flowers pale-lilac; the pods are five inches and a half long, five-eighths of an inch wide, and generally contain five seeds,—while young they are green, and nearly straight; as they approach maturity they become paler; and, when ripe, are frequently streaked and spotted with purple.
The ripe seeds are variegated with drab, dull purple, and different shades of brown; the brown and dull purple prevailing: they are kidney-shaped, and measure nearly three-fourths of an inch in length, and three-eighths of an inch in width. A quart contains about fourteen hundred and fifty seeds, and will plant a hundred and seventy-five feet of drill, or a hundred and seventy-five hills.
It is about a week later than the earliest varieties. Spring plantings will blossom in about seven weeks, produce pods for the table in eight weeks, and ripen in a hundred days, from the time of sowing. In ordinary seasons, the variety will ripen perfectly if planted the last week in June; and will yield an abundance of pods for the table, if the planting be made as late in the season as the last of July.
The Early Mohawk is quite productive, and one of the hardiest of the Dwarf varieties. It is well adapted for early planting, and is extensively grown by market-gardeners as an early string-bean. The young pods are comparatively tender, and of good quality; and, if gathered as they become of suitable size, the plants will continue to yield them in great abundance. The shelled-beans, green or dry, are less esteemed, and considered inferior to many other varieties.
Newington Wonder.
A healthy, vigorous variety, with deep-green foliage and bright-purple flowers. The plants often produce slender, barren runners, eighteen inches or two feet in length; but they are generally of short duration, and the variety is treated as other Dwarfs.
The pods are small and straight; usually about four inches long, and nearly half an inch broad. They are pale-green at first; and afterwards change to yellowish-white, tinted or washed with bright pink. At maturity they are dusky-drab, sometimes clouded or shaded with purple, and contain six or seven beans.
The ripe seeds are pale brownish-drab, with a yellowish-brown line about the eye; oblong, flattened, shortened at the ends, nearly half an inch long, and a fourth of an inch deep: about thirty-six hundred are contained in a quart. As the seeds are comparatively small, and the plants of spreading habit, this amount of seeds will plant a row four hundred feet in length, or four hundred hills.
The variety is not early, and, when cultivated for its seeds, should have the benefit of the whole season; though, with favorable autumnal weather, the crop will ripen if planted the middle of June. Spring plantings will blossom in eight weeks, produce young pods in nine weeks, and ripen in a hundred and six days.
The Newington Wonder is remarkably prolific; and, in its manner of growth and general character, resembles the Tampico or Turtle-soup. As a string-bean, it is one of the best. The pods, though not large, are crisp, succulent, and tender, and produced in great abundance throughout most of the season. The seeds, in their green state, are small, and of little value for the table: when ripe, they afford an excellent substitute for the Tampico or Turtle-soup; the difference, aside from the color, being scarcely perceptible.