The Sweet Pea of the Past and of the Future 



In surveying the development of the sweet pea since 

 it was first introduced into England, one must marvel at 

 the extraordinary development of the flower and the po- 

 sition it occupies in the gardens of the world today. It 

 has not only provided beauty and given immeasurable 

 joy on account of its beauty, far in excess of any other 

 flower, but it has provided material to the scientist, to 

 the seed grower, to the seedsman and to the press calling 

 for their respective abilities and putting them to the test 

 in a great variety of ways. The (|uestion has arisen in 

 many minds. "How long will it cnntinue?" For the last 

 five years I have heard it said that the sweet pea was at 

 the height of its popularity, but the height of the great 

 mountain of sweet pea possibility has not yet been 

 scaled. .A vear or two ago we stood on some promi- 

 nence where the high peak seemed only a day's climb fur- 

 ther, but today our climb has brought us to another 

 height, from which we can yet see the highest peak far 

 above, though the fog has not lifted from its summit, and 

 we can onlv imagine the highest poiiU. .As we look hack 

 and take in the view below, the scenery is grand. We 

 have climbed over some rough parts, but our imagination 

 urges us to climb yet higher, for as we climb this moun- 

 tain our view will be finer and grander. We will have 

 some rough places to conquer, oftentimes necessitating 

 the use of guide ropes, but with the assurance that our 

 fellow travelers are linked to us, these obstacles will be 

 surmounted. 



Tlie first line along which we should consider the sub- 

 ject is naturally the raising of varieties. 



The sweet pea, history records, was first noticed by 

 Cupani, a monk in Sicily, in the year 1699, and a few 

 seeds were sent to England. It was long before varia- 

 tions took place, and about the year 1793 we find that 

 black, i)urple, scarlet and white varieties were offered for 

 sale. Seven years later a black purple was offered, and 

 thirty-seven years later a striped flowered could be had. 

 In 1860 the first edged variety appeared. Ten years la- 

 ter Henrv Eckford, w'hose name will always be asso- 

 ciated with sweet peas as long as sweet peas are grown, 

 began his great life work. \'arieties now came much 

 faster, but at first the stocks were badly mixed. While 

 ignorant of the laws of Mendelism, h'ckford by careful 

 selection was afterward able to put his novelties on the 

 market fixed. The varieties of the past and their color- 

 ing must have been considered wonderful, and to read 

 over some of the descriptions given is now amusing, 

 when we think of present-day flowers. 



The coming of the Spencer in 1901, and how this 

 flower captivated all growers and brought about present 

 conditions in the sweet pea world is well known. We 

 have to be thankful, however, that the original Spencer 

 sweet pea was such a beauty, as had Spencer form first 

 appeared in some of our varieties today, the name of 

 which I leave to you, I fear it would have passed un- 

 noticed. 



1^'ollowing Countess Spencer, novelties were showered 

 on the market in profusion, but mostly in a wretched 

 state of unfi.xedness. Seedsmen were too an.xious to sell 

 their production, but gradually things have settled down 

 and today conditions are much improved. 



Besides the coming of Spencers there were other va- 

 riations of value. Of these the earl\- flowering type was 

 IJerhaps the most important owing In its jjlace with flor- 

 ists. Then the cupid varieties and bush varieties were 

 introduced b\- the .\merican growers, but these never 

 gained a wide popularity. 



The present day finds us with a list of sweet pea names 

 some two thousand in number. From the list we can 

 pick out such gems as King Edward Spencer, Elfrida 

 Pearson, Countess Spencer, (ieorge Herbert, Mrs. Cuth- 

 bertson, Alelba, Liertrand, Deal, Illuminator, Margaret 

 Atlee, Morse's Monday Alorning, Margaret Madson 2d, 

 Miriam Beaver 2d, Doris Usher, Helen Lewis, Hercules, 

 King White, Rosabelle, Mrs. C. W. Breadmore. .America 

 Spencer, Jessie Cuthbertson Spencer, R. F. Felton, Asta 

 Ohn, Dainty Spencer, Thomas Stevenson, Nubian, Ver- 

 milion Brilliant, etc. What wonderful coloring has been 

 produced and what remarkable size. Fifteen years ago 

 had we seen a jilant of Prima Donna or Katherine Tracy 

 bearing four blossoms on one stem, with even a sugges- 

 tion of the size of say Elfrida Pearson, even poorly 

 grown, we should have looked for the immediate death 

 of the plant. Truly the work of hybridizers has been 

 wonderful, and whoever they may have been, lovers of 

 flowers will pay tribute. The extensive list of Spencers 

 in most diverse shades, bears ample testimony to their 

 work. Some people, princiiially in .America, should be 

 reminded that "even Burbank in all his glory has not ar- 

 rayed one of these." 



What has the future in store? To my mind il will 

 bring forth things which have never been dreamed of. 

 Already we have had a glimpse of what is coming by 

 the new true double flowers. These are quite different 

 from the duplex type. They are most wonderful flowers, 

 and will rival the most expensive orchid, perhaps not only 

 in beaut\- but in price, as the seeding qualities are very 

 light. 



Then in the early flowering section I look for good, 

 fixed .Spencer flowers in colors suitable for florists, and 

 with the desirable qualities of the early flowering varie- 

 ties of the ])ast. There is \et much room for improve- 

 ment in this section and an idea of what is to come can 

 be had from the .Australian variety Yarrawa Spencer. 



In Cupids 1 look for an improvement in the form of 

 Spencers having the Cupid growth and the long stems, 

 large flowers, and colorings of the Spencer varieties. 



Perhaps one of the most remarkable changes in sweet 

 [lea matters has been in the cultural methods. In years 

 past the amateur dug his garden in the usual way, which 

 was often poor enough, and then made a little drill with 

 his hoe in which the peas were .sown as thickly as pos- 

 sible. There were many ways resorted to in training 

 them or supporting them. 



Onlv a few keen growers ever thought of manuring 

 or feeding the plants, and the result was a fine, thick 

 hedge of medium height. A great contrast to that i-~ the 

 culture of the keen growers today. Growers have 

 learned that thick planting was unnecessary, possibly 

 they were helped to realize that by the price of seed. 

 Then disbudding has been resorted to and the growing 

 on the single stem system, thereby producing enormous 

 flowers. It is nothing unusual to find growers sjjading 

 the ground two and three feet deep incorporating man- 

 ures with great care and knowledge. The plants are fed 

 with manures during the flowering period and many col- 

 ors shades from the sun's ray to preserve the color. The 

 sweet pea plant is watched with anxious eyes from its 

 first appearance above ground until the final blossom is 

 cut. 



What our cultural methods will develop into is beyond 

 me to saw but imjirovements will come. Following along 

 present lines we might expect to see some of our grow- 

 ers trying to grow their peas on the Dahlia system, allow- 



