These articles were not string beans or beans in the pod, but mature beans in a dry state, consisting of two varieties,-lentils and white medium beans. It appeared that the main use of both lentils and beans was for food, though sometimes they were sold for seed, and that they were never bought and sold under the name of 'vegetables' or under the name of 'seeds,' but simply as 'beans' or 'lentils,' as the case might be. Some evidence was adduced to the effect that, although the seed, root, or top of the plant might properly be called a vegetable if green, yet that, if the article were mature and dried, it thereupon ceased to be a vegetable, and became a seed. But, as the circuit judge well said, the testimony did not deal in the commercial designation of the article or what it was called in trade and commerce, but only tended to show how the witnesses though it should be classified. It is true that one of the plaintiffs stated that, if a customer inquired for a certain kind of field bean, he would ask him whether he wanted the 'field pea bean,' or 'the seed of the field pea bean,' or 'the seed of the white medium bean,' or what kind of beans he wanted; and that they imported the seeds of the lentil and the seeds of the bean, though they did not import the seed of the wheat plant, of the rye plant, or of the oat plant. It would be absurd to regard this as tending to establish a commercial designation.
In construing a tariff act, when it is claimed that the commercial use of a word or phrase in it differs from the ordinary signification of such word or phrase, in order that the former prevail over the latter it must appear that the commercial designation is the result of established usage in commerce and trade, and that, at the time of the passage of the act, that usage was definite, uniform, and general, and not partial, local, or personal. Maddock v. Magone, 152 U.S. 368, 14 Sup. Ct. 588.
The articles were known in trade and commerce as lentils and beans. They did not come within the paragraphs of the tariff, specially enumerating certain beans and seeds, or referring to inedible beans, seeds, and vegetables; but the words 'seeds' and 'vegetables' are employed in other paragraphs, and it is conceded that these articles fell under the one or the other. The word 'seeds,' as found in paragraph 760 in the free list, is joined with 'plants, trees, shrubs and vines,' the obvious intention being to encourage agriculture, horticulture, and arboriculture by facilitating seeding and transplanting, and the words being applicable to seeds used for seeding purposes,-in common understanding, for propagation. The word 'vegetables' is found in paragraph 286, under the heading 'Provisions,' and in common parlance applies to articles of food. The predominant use of lentils and beans is for food, and, as so used, they are commonly called 'vegetables,' although they may be regarded botanically as seeds, and may sometimes be used for seeding purposes. Under such circumstances, ordinary use, not occasional or subsequent use, furnishes the guide for classification. Maillard v. Lawrence, 16 How. 251; Worthington v. Robbins, 139 U.S. 337, 11 Sup. Ct. 581; Magone v. Heller, 150 U.S. 70, 14 Sup. Ct. 18. The words 'seeds' and 'vegetables' are words of common speech, and there is no room here for the contention that they had acquired a special signification by usage or had a scientific, different from the popular, meaning. Whether the articles were properly classified as vegetables was a matter for the court to decide. The interpretation of words of common speech is within the judicial knowledge and matter of law. Marvel v. Merritt, 116 U.S. 11, 6 Sup. Ct. 207; Nix v. Hedden, 149 U.S. 304, 13 Sup. Ct. 881; Cadwalader v. Zeh, 151 U.S. 171, 14 Sup. Ct. 288; Saltonstall v. Wiebusch & Hilger, 156 U.S. 601, 15 Sup. Ct. 476.
As stated by counsel for the government, a verdict should not be directed where, before the meaning of the statute can be known, it is necessary to learn from conflicting evidence the controlling use of the article in question, or its similitude to some other article, or the values of its component materials, or its weight and fitness, or whether labor is necessary to fit it for use by the consumer, or its commercial designation; but we have no such case before us.