The Kinds.

            There be divers sorts of pulse, as Beans, Peas, Tares, Chickpeas, and such like, comprehended under this title Pulse: and first of the great Bean, or garden Bean.

The Description.

            1. The Great Bean riseth up with a four-square stalk, smooth, hollow, without joints, long and upright, which when it is thick sown hath no need of propping, but when it is sown alone by itself soon falleth down to the ground: it bringeth forth long leaves one standing from another, consisting of many growing upon one rib or stem, every one whereof is somewhat fat, set with veins, slippery, more long than round. The flowers are eared, in form long, in colour either white with black spots, or of a blackish purple: after them come up long cods, thick, full of substance, slenderer below, frizzed on the inside with a certain white wool as it were, or soft flocks; which before they be ripe are green, and afterwards being dry they are black and somewhat hard, as be also the cods of broom, yet they be longer than those, and greater: in which are contained three, four; or five beans, seldom more, long, broad, flat, like almost to a man's nail, great, and oftentimes to the weight of half a dram; for the most part white, now and then of a red purplish colour; which in their upper part have a long black navel as it were, which is covered with a nail, the colour whereof is a light green: the skin of the fruit or bean is closely compacted, the inner part being dry is hard and sound, and easily cleft in sunder; and it hath on the one side an evident beginning of sprouting, as have also the little Peas, Great Peas, Chickpeas, and many other Pulses. The roots hereof are long, and fastened with many strings.

            2. The second kind of Bean (which Pena setteth forth under the title of Faba sylvestris græcorum, and Dodonæus, Bona sylvestris, which may be called in English Greek Bean) hath square hollow stalks like the Garden Beans, but smaller. The leaves be also like the common Bean, saving that the ends of the rib whereon those leaves do grow have at the very end small tendrils or claspers, such as the Pea leaves have. The flowers are in fashion like the former, but of a dark red colour: which being faded, there succeed long cods which are black when they be ripe, within which is enclosed black seed as big as a Pea, of an unpleasant taste and savour.

            3. The common Bean in stalks, leaves, flowers, and cods is like the former great garden Bean, but lesser in them all; yet the leaves are more, and grow thicker, and out of the bosoms of the leaves upon little footstalks grow the flowers, commonly six in number, upon one stalk, which are succeeded by so many cods, lesser and rounder than those of the former: the beans themselves are also less; and not so flat, but rounder, and somewhat longish: their colour are either whitish, yellowish, or else black. This is sown in most places of this kingdom, in corn fields, and known both to man and beast. This is the Bona or Faselus minor of Dodonæus; and the Faba minor of Pena and Lobel.

The Place.

            The first Bean is sown in fields and gardens everywhere about London.

            This black Bean is sown in a few men's gardens who be delighted in variety and study of herbs, whereof I have great plenty in my garden.

The Time.

            They flower in April and May, and that by parcels, and they be long in flowering: the fruit is ripe in July and August.

The Names.

            The Garden Bean is called in Latin Faba: in English, the Garden Bean: the Field Bean is of the same kind and name, although the fertility of the soil hath amended and altered the fruit into a greater form. So saith our author, but the difference between the Garden and Field Bean is a specific difference, and not an accidental one caused by the soil, as every one that knoweth them may well perceive.

            The Black Bean, whose figure we have set forth in the second place, is called Faba sylvestris: of some thought to be the true physic Bean of the ancients; whereupon they have named it Faba veterum, and also Faba græcorum, or the Greek Bean. Some would have the Garden Bean to be the true Phaseolus, or Kidney Bean; of which number Dodonæus is chief, who hath so wrangled and ruffled among his relatives, that all his antecedents must be cast out of doors: for his long and tedious tale of a tub we have thought meet to commit to oblivion. (But see below*) It is called in Greek Puanos, whereupon the Athenians' feast days dedicated to Apollo were named Puanepsia, in which Beans and Pulses were sodden: in Latin it is also called Faba fresa or fracta, broken or bruised Bean.

            *Note: Dodonæus knew well what he did, as any that are either judicious or learned may look into the first chapter of the second book of his fourth Pemptas. But our author's words are too injurious especially being without cause, & against him, from whom he borrowed all that was good in this his book, except the figures of Tabernamontanus. It may be Dr. Priest did not fit his translation in this place to our author's capacity; for Dodonæus did not affirm it to be the Phaseolus, but Phaselus, distinguishing between them.

The Temperature and Virtues.

            A. The Bean before it be ripe is cold and moist: being dry it hath power to bind and restrain, according to some authors: further of the temperature and virtues out of Galen.

            B. The Bean (as Galen saith in his book Of The Faculties of Nourishments) is windy meat, although it be never so much sodden and dressed any way.

            C. Beans have not a close and heavy substance, but a spongy and light, and this substance hath a scouring and cleansing faculty; for it is plainly seen, that the meal of Beans cleanseth away the filth of the skin; by reason of which quality it passeth not slowly through the belly.

            D. And seeing the meal of Beans is windy, the Beans themselves if they be boiled whole and eaten are yet much more windy.

            E. If they be parched they lose their windiness but they are harder of digestion, and do slowly descend, and yield unto the body thick or gross nourishing juice; but if they be eaten green before they be ripe and dried, the same thing happeneth to them which is incident to all fruits that are eaten before they be fully ripe; that is to say, they give unto the body a moist kind of nourishment, and therefore a nourishment more full of excrements, not only in the inward parts, but also in the outward, and whole body through: therefore those kinds of Beans do less nourish, but they do more speedily pass through the belly, as the said author in his book Of The Faculties of Simple Medicines saith, that the Bean is moderately cold and dry.

            F. The pulp or meat thereof doth somewhat cleanse, the skin doth a little bind.

            G. Therefore divers physicians have given the whole Bean boiled with vinegar and salt to those that were troubled with the bloody flux, with lasks and vomitings.

            H. It raiseth phlegm out of the chest and lungs: being outwardly applied it drieth without hurt the watery humours of the gout. We have oftentimes used the same being boiled in water and so mixed with swine's grease.

            I. We have laid the meal thereof with Oxymel, or syrup of vinegar, both upon bruised and wounded sinews, and upon the wounded parts of such as have been bitten or stung, to take away the fiery heat.

            K. It also maketh a good plaster and poultice for men's stones and women's paps: for those parts when they are inflamed, have need of moderate cooling, especially when the paps are inflamed through the cluttered and congealed milk contained in them.

            L. Also milk is dried up with that poultice.

            M. The meal thereof (as Dioscorides further addeth) being tempered with the meal of Fenugreek and honey, doth take away black and blue spots, which come by dry beatings, and wasteth away kernels under the ears.

            N. With Rose leaves, Frankincense, and the white of an egg, it keepeth back the watering of the eyes, the pin and the web, and hard swellings.

            O. Being tempered with wine it healeth suffusions, and stripes of the eyes.

            P. The Bean being chewed without the skin, is applied to the forehead against rheums and falling down of humours.

            Q. Being boiled in wine it taketh away the inflammation of the stones.

            R. The skins of Beans applied to the place where the hairs were first plucked up, wil not suffer them to grow big, but rather consumeth their nourishment.

            S. Being applied with Barley meal parched and old oil, they waste away the King's evil.

            T. The decoction of them serveth to dye woollen cloth withal.

            V. This Bean being divided into two parts (the skin taken off) by which it was naturally joined together, and applied, stancheth the blood which doth too much issue forth after the biting of the horse-leech, if the one half be laid upon the place.

            X. The Black Bean is not used with us at all, seeing, as we have said, it is rare, and sown only in a few men's gardens, who be delighted in variety and study of herbs.