The Bean.
Botanical name:
Faba.
THE common garden-bean is sufficiently known; it grows to a yard high, its stalks are angular, and the leaves, which are of the winged kind, stand one at each joint; the flowers are white spotted with black, and are finely scented. The pods and their seeds need not be described.
It has been customary to distil a water from bean-flowers, and use it to soften the skin, but common distilled water does as well. It is otherwise with the water of the bean-pods. These are to be bruised, when the beans are half ripe in them, and distilled with water in a common alembic. The water is a very gentle carminative, without any heat or acridness; this is excellent for children's gripes.
