Stem six feet and upwards in height; flowers bright-lilac; the pods are five inches and a half long, green while young, cream-white at maturity, and contain six or seven seeds.
The variety is late, but remarkable for hardiness and productiveness. The shelled-beans, green or ripe, are little used; the young pods are crisp, succulent, and excellent for the table; and the variety deserves more general cultivation. If plucked as fast as they become of suitable size, the plants will continue to produce them in abundance for six or eight weeks.
The ripe seeds are chocolate-brown, somewhat quadrangular, flattened, half an inch long, and three-eighths of an inch broad. In size and form, they somewhat resemble grains of Indian corn: whence the name. Twelve hundred and fifty seeds are contained in a quart, and will plant a hundred and twenty-five hills.
Horticultural.
Marbled Prague. Vil. London Horticultural.
Stem six feet or more in height; flowers purple; the pods are from five to six inches long, nearly three-fourths of an inch broad, pale-green while young, greenish-white streaked and blotched with brilliant rose-red when more advanced, much contorted, hard, parchment-like and very tenacious of their contents when ripe, and enclose five or six seeds.
When planted at the commencement of the season, the variety will blossom in about seven weeks, produce pods for stringing in nine weeks, green beans in twelve weeks, and ripen in a hundred days. Plantings made during the last week in June will mature their crop, if the season be favorable. For the green beans, plantings may be made until the last of June; and, for the young pods, until the first of July.
The ripe beans are flesh-white, streaked and spotted with bright-pink, or red, with a russet-yellow line encircling the eye. They are egg-shaped, rather more than half an inch in length, and four-tenths of an inch in width and depth. From the time of ripening, the soft, flesh-like tint gradually loses its freshness, and finally becomes cinnamon-brown; the variegations growing relatively duller and darker. A quart contains about eleven hundred seeds, and will plant a hundred and twenty-five hills.
The Horticultural Bean was introduced into this country from England about the year 1825. It has now become very generally disseminated, and is one of the most popular of the running sorts. As a string-bean, it is of good quality; shelled in its green state, remarkably farinaceous and well flavored; and, when ripe, one of the best for baking or stewing. It is hardy and productive, but is liable to deteriorate when raised many years in succession from seed saved in the vegetable garden from the scattered pods accidentally left to ripen on the poles. To raise good seed, leave each year a few hills unplucked; allowing the entire product to ripen.
Indian Chief.