Culture of the Sweet Pea 687 



remains in bloom a long time. The seed should be planted early in the 

 spring." 



Edward Sayers, whose book " The American Flower Garden Com- 

 panion " (Boston, 1838) was the second floricultural book published in 

 America, gives in the appendix of the book the following list: 



"Sweet pea. Painted Lady, Lathyrus odoratus. . . 4 ft. fleshed color 



White sweet pea Lathyrus alba 2 ft. white color 



Purple sweet pea Lathyrus fl. purpurea 2 ft. piirple color 



Scarlet sweet pea Lathyrus fi. rosea 2 ft. scarlet color 



Striped sweet pea Lathyrus fi. striata 2 ft. striped color " 



Thus we see that all the varieties were known in this country previous 

 to 1840. 



Mr. Carter (founder of Messrs. J. Carter & Co. of Holborn) offered 

 in 1837 the five varieties previously offered by Mason, and also the striped 

 variety. 



In Mrs. London's " Ladies' Flower Garden of Ornamental Annuals " 

 (1840) descriptions are given of a ntimber of annual species of the genus 

 Lathyrus, among them L. odoratus. Under the head of " Varieties " 

 occurs the following: " There are six distinct kinds of sweet peas in 

 constant cultivation, all of which, with very few exceptions, come true 

 from seed. There are the purple, which has a standard of deep reddish 

 purple, the wings pinkish, and the keel nearly white, and is a native of 

 Sicily; the New Painted Lady, which has the standard deep rose colour, 

 the wings pale rose, and the keel pure white, and is a native of Ceylon; 

 the white sweet pea, which has flowers a pure white; the Old Painted 

 Lady, which has the wings and keel white and the standard flesh-coloured ; 

 the blue, which has the wings and keel a pale blue and the standard dark 

 bluish purple; and the violet, which has the keel a pale violet, the wings 

 a deep violet, and the standard a dark reddish purple." 



Between 1845 and 1849 the flrm of Messrs. J. Carter & Co. introduced 

 a New Striped Sweet Pea and a New Large Purple Sweet Pea. 



In 1850 Messrs. Noble, Cooper & Bolton (predecessors of Cooper, 

 Taber & Co.) introduced a New Large Dark Purple. 



In i860 Mr. Carter offered nine varieties, besides a yellow-flowered 

 variety and the variety Blue Edged. The last-named variety was white, 

 with a well-marked blue edge, and it was stated that it was the result of 

 many experiments made by Major Trevor Clarke, of Daventry, in cross- 

 ing a pure white sweet pea with the perennial bright-blue-flowered Lord 

 Anson's pea, L. Magellanicus. Later, in 1883, under the name " Blue 

 Hybrid," this variety received the First Class Certificate of the Royal 

 Horticultural Society. 



