340 EEPOET ON THE VARIETIES OF GAEDEN PEAS. 



till the 2"2nd of June. What with the long-continued cold, and 

 the excessive rains, many of the varieties have grown quite out 

 of character, and others have not been able to exhibit the real 

 merits which they are known to possess. 



The result of this experiment as regards nomenclature has 

 been, to reduce the 116 varieties that were sown, to 70, which are 

 certainly distinct, and to the merits or demerits of which this 

 report will more particularly be directed. There cannot be a 

 doubt but that 70 varieties of garden peas are quite unnecessary. 

 One half of them are, in comparison with the others, perfectly 

 worthless, and it would be well if the public would second the 

 efforts of the seedsmen, and select for cultivation those varieties 

 only that are most worth growing. 



In arranging the collection for sowing, I first of all classed 

 them according to the characters presented by the ripe seeds, and 

 then by the heights to which they were said to grow. By this 

 method considerable advantage was gained at the outset, by 

 bringing the sorts most nearly allied close together, and thereby 

 rendering comparison more easy. The arrangement I adopted 

 was as follows, and to this I will adhere in the following report. 

 To facilitate identification, and to exhibit the characters of the 

 different varieties, I have supplied drawings of the pods of each, 

 and also figures of the forms of the seeds. 



CLASSIFICATION OF PEAS. 



Q 



. Seed round or irregularly roundish, smooth, or nearly so. 



A. Seed small, round, white ; skin thin— Frames. {Fig. 1) 



B. Seed large, irregular, white ; skin thick— Marrows. {Fig- 2) 



D. Seed smaU, round, blue ; skin thin— Prussians. {Fig.l) 



. Seed compressed mid wHnEed. {Fig. 3) 



F. Seed white— White Kxights. 



G. Seed mixed white and oUve.- Green Marrow Knights. 

 H. Seed green- Green Knights. 



I. FRAME PEAS. 

 Ripe seed white, almost round, small, smooth, and occasionally 



pitted. Foliage pale green, not blotched. 



