A SECOND ACCOUNT OF SWEET PEAS. 



I. Notes upon Sweet Peas (A. P. IVyman). 



Someone asked Mr. Burpee at the Springfield Sweet Pea Show 

 what are the important points to be observed in judging the 

 value of varieties of sweet peas. He replied by quoting from 

 Eckford, but arranged his points in different order : "form, size, 

 substance, and color." He, of course, looked at the matter from 

 the seedsman's point of view. To him commercially, color was 

 the least thing to be considered. The general observer would see 

 color only, and experience only a vague satisfaction or dissatis- 

 faction if the other points were not what they should be. But 

 Mr. Burpee had good ground for putting color last, for this, 

 tolerably sure to be good anyway, is absolutely worthless unless 

 placed on a canvass suited to receive it. 



The various forms which the sweet pea assumes easily fall into 

 four classes. One class is the large flower which bends and 

 curls its standard forward into a hood, like the Countess of 

 Radnor. Another large flower, as Gaiety, spreads itself out into 

 a broad, round, expanded form, but without a stiff effect. Still 

 another bends or reflexes the sides of its banner backward in a 

 manner not so pleasing, and if the substance is poor, in a manner 

 which is almost ugly as in Fairy Queen. Last, there is the stiff, 

 erect blossom, the smallest type, from which all the varieties have 

 sprung, as Carmen Sylva. In connection with this expansion and 

 hooded character and reflection, must be considered the shape of 

 the base of the standard. In the last or old natural form, and to 

 a greater or less extent in the reflexed, the base is wedge-shaped. 

 In such case, the banner cannot help falling backward, because 

 there is no structure to pull it forward into place. In the ex- 

 panded and hooded forms, the base is different. Here it is not 

 only straight horizontally or truncate, but in the hooded form is 

 drawn down, giving an ear-like or auriculate shape. This ex- 

 plains the characters of the two expanded and hooded classes. 

 The broad truncate base is stiff and pulls the edge of the blossom 

 forward tightly into place, or if it is auriculate, it is still stronger, 

 and curls the edge still farther forward into a hood. There are 



