During 1 Queen Victoria's Reign. 3 



In 1859 that popular Pea, Veitch's Perfection, was introduced, and in the same 

 year also the first selections of Dr. McLean's Seedlings were put on the market 

 by Mr. CHARLES TURNER, including Princess Eoyal, followed a few years later by 

 Little Gem ; and these continued to be favourites for a quarter of a century. This 

 was the commencement of a period of activity which has extended with increased 

 vigour till the present day the skilful hand of the hybridiser in conjunction with 

 the keen eye of the expert producing such Peas as Her Majesty's gardener in 1837 

 never dreamt of. 



Here I may remark that the work of selecting is in no degree less important 

 than that of hybridising. This will be better understood when I explain that a 

 seedling Pea is now generally the result of so much inter-breeding that very many 

 distinct types will often be represented in the ultimate cross. This cross will 

 give a pod containing from six to ten or more seeds. At this point the work of 

 the hybridiser ceases and the responsibility of the selector commences. 



When sown the following year these seeds will in all probability produce as many 

 distinct seedling Peas, some partaking of the character of the parents, and some 

 not ; but the difficulty increases when we find that seed saved from each of these 

 plants very frequently varies in each case to such an extent that the greatest 

 patience is required in order to secure any fixed type at all. Let me make my mean- 

 ing still clearer, if possible. The first year we start with, say, six seeds in the one pod. 



The second year we have six seedling plants. 



The third year we have six rows, short or long, the produce of the six plants 

 of the preceding year ; but we may also find in each of these six rows Peas of all 

 types, viz. : tall, dwarf, and of medium height ; early, later, large and small 

 podded, pale and dark in colour, curved and straight in the pod, with square or 

 pointed terminals (this difference alone being sufficient to distinguish two popular 

 garden varieties). Last, but not least, some may be round-seeded and others 

 wrinkled-seeded. It is clear that the selector must re-commence with the most 

 promising plant in each row, and endeavour to build up a seedling Pea which will 

 reproduce itself from seed without variation, a task often extending over many 

 years. In scarcely any instance known to me has a seedling Pea been put on the 

 market without such selection as I have alluded to. 



Between 1860 and 1880 many varieties raised by Dr. McLean, of Colchester, 

 and Mr. Thomas Laxton, of Bedford, were introduced ; amongst them being Prince 

 of Wales, Dr. McLean, Omega, William the First, and William Hurst, all of which 

 are more or less popular at the present day. During the same period the first 

 results attained by the veteran William Culverwell whose excellent work deserves 

 grateful recognition from all who value marrowfat Peas came to light in Tele- 

 graph, Telephone, Stratagem, and Pride of the Market, which varieties were intro- 

 duced by Messrs. Carter. By this time Henry Eckford was endeavouring, and with 

 considerable success, to infuse the blood of Ne Plus Ultra into a dwarfer race of 

 Peas. From various sources appeared during the next few years Autocrat, Duke of 

 Albany (which is certainly one of the most popular Peas of the present day), Sharpe's 

 Queen, Webb's Wordsley Wonder, and others. In 1881 my house introduced 

 American Wonder, which still is more extensively grown than any other early 

 dwarf wrinkled Pea. 



