89.2; protein, 2.3; fat, 0.3; carbohydrates, 7.4; mineral matter, 0.8; the fuel value is 195 calories per pound. The Windsor Bean is eaten green or ripe, being the common bean of many regions of Europe. In America the Navy or Kidney is the bean most commonly eaten green or dry. Most of the varieties of String Beans belong in this class. The Lima Beans are of excellent flavor and quality, and are favorites, green or dry. In Europe, especially in England, the Scarlet Runner furnishes string and shell beans. The Asparagus Bean is becoming favorably known as a string bean.
Green-shell Beans and String Beans are usually cooked in water, and prepared and served in a variety of ways. Dry beans are used for soups, purées, ‘baked beans,’ and other dishes. To develop their flavor long cooking is desirable. Judged by their composition, fresh beans compare favorably with other green vegetables. Dry beans are certainly a very nutritious food. The latter are especially rich in protein, and are thus fitted to replace meat to some extent in the diet. Taking into consideration the high food value of beans, their cost is usually low. It must be remembered, however, that, if eaten in large quantities, beans are less thoroughly digested than cereals. Owing to the production of methane by fermentation in the intestines, beans are liable to cause flatulence.
Beans are sometimes ground to ‘bean flour.’ Large quantities of String Beans and Shell Beans are dried by evaporation or canned. Cooked dry beans are also canned. String Beans are sometimes preserved with salt, and allowed to undergo a peculiar process of fermentation.
The Frijole is much eaten, green or dry, in the southwestern United States, as well as in Mexico and other Spanish-American countries. The dry bean is cooked in a variety of ways, and is often highly seasoned with chilies. The pods of the Locust or Carob Bean are often sold by confectioners under the name of Saint John's Bread. The seeds of this bean are surrounded by a sweet mucilaginous pulp, which is eaten to a considerable extent, especially in the Mediterranean region, as are also similar portions of the pods of the Honey Locust (Gleditschia tricanthos), Soy beans (q.v. ), and Cowpea (q.v.).
Bean Diseases. The principal fungus disease to which the bean is subject is known as anthracnose, and is caused by the fungus Colletotrichum lindemuthianum. The fungus attacks stems, leaves, and pods of the bean, its presence being most conspicuous upon the pods, in which it causes deep, dark pits, seriously depreciating their value. The disease may be carried from one crop to another through the seed. Infected seeds are wrinkled and discolored, and all such should be rejected, as plants growing from them are sure to be affected, and they may convey the disease to otherwise healthy plants. Various treatments have been suggested for combating bean anthracnose, but careful selection of seed will probably give the most satisfactory results.
A rust of bean-leaves, caused by Uromyces phaseoli, is sometimes troublesome, causing injury by defoliating the plants. The first appearance of rust may be recognized by small, nearly circular brown dots, which contain a brown powder, the spores of the fungus. Later the spots are larger and the spores black. The liberal use of Bordeaux mixture (see Fungicides) will prevent this disease. A mildew of Lima beans, due to Phytophthora phaseoli, is sometimes destructive. Loss of the crop may be prevented by the use of suitable fungicides.
BEAN, Saint Ignatius. See Strychnos.
BEAN, Tarleton Hoffman (1846—). An American ichthyologist, born at Bainbridge, Pa. In 1892 he became associated with the United States Fish Commission. From 1880 to 1895 he was curator of fishes at the United States National Museum, and from 1895 to 1897 was director of the New York Aquarium, which he organized. He was the commissioner in charge of fishes at the World's Columbian Exposition, 1893, at the Atlanta Exposition in 1895, and at Paris in 1900. He published, with G. Brown Goode, Oceanic Ichthyology (Cambridge, 1896); also descriptive lists of the fishes of New York, Pennsylvania, and other districts; and many contributions to the publications of the Fish Commission, National Museum, and various societies.
BEAN-FEAST, also called WAYZ-GOOSE. The English custom of an annual outing and dinner of workmen. It is either given by the employers or subscribed for by the workmen themselves. The name or names are possibly derived from the fact that beans, or a bean-goose, figure prominently in the repast.
BEAN-GOOSE. The small gray goose of Great Britain and Northern Europe. See Goose.
BEAN-KING'S FES′TIVAL. A social rite principally observed in France, from which country it would seem to have been transplanted to Germany. On the evening of Twelfth Day, the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6), companies assemble to spend a few hours in mirthful relaxation. A large cake is baked, with a bean hidden somewhere in it. The cake is then divided into pieces, each person present receiving one, and whoever obtains the piece with the bean is king for the year. In this capacity he holds a mock court and receives the homage of the company, who also amuse themselves with other diversions. The Bean-King, however, is compelled to pay for his dignity, for he has to give an entertainment on the next Twelfth Night, that an opportunity may be afforded to choose another king. In France this custom was, at an earlier period, so common that even the Court indulged in it, although the Church, in the Seventeenth Century, exerted itself zealously for its suppression. It has left a trace in the popular expression for a lucky man, ‘Il a trouvé la fève au gateau’ (‘he has found the bean in the cake’). The opinion that the Bean-King's Festival owes its origin to the Roman saturnalia, when even the children, partaking in the universal glee, were wont to elect a king, is not destitute of probability.
BEAN-TREE. See Laburnum.
BEAN-WEEVIL. A small, dark-colored downy beetle (Bruchus fabæ), which infests dried beans. See Weevil.
BEAR, bâr (AS. bera, Ger. Bär, possibly akin to Lat. fera, wild beast, Gk. φήρ, phēr, beast, Skt. bhalla, bear). A large, shaggy plantigrade beast of prey, representing the carnivorous family Ursidæ. Bears are native to all the wilder parts of Europe, Asia (with its closely adja-
