85 FLORA. HISTORICA. 



art of the florist, or by accidental impregnation, 

 and have produced a variety with striped petals. 



The Sweet Pea is so universally admired, and 

 so easily cultivated, that we now meet with it in 

 ever\^ oarden, from the palace of the monarch to 

 the cottage of the peasant, where it equally dis- 

 penses its fragrant odours, without regarding the 

 rank of its possessor. It is also one of the prin- 

 cipal annual flowers that the market florists culti- 

 vate to decorate the balconies of the mansions of 

 the metropolis, where it is frequently seen in blos- 

 som, through the art of forcing, several weeks earlier 

 than we meet with it in the open garden. The 

 perfume of this elegant flower, although delightful 

 in the open air, is found rather oppressive than 

 reviving when confined to close apartments, and we 

 therefore caution ladies from admitting it into their 

 chambers. The fragrance of the Sweet Pea is 

 similar to that of the orange flowers with a mixture 

 of the rose. The formation of these beautiful 

 blossoms has been compared to that of the butterfly, 

 and hence they are called PapiUonaceous flowers. 

 These blossoms are remarkable for their elegant 

 negligence of shape, and delicacy and richness of 

 colouring. Nature seems to have dressed them as 

 a model for the harmonizing of colours ; for when 

 we find the standards of a rich claret-colour that 

 bears a velvet-like appearance, the wings are gene- 



