Sweet Peas 



about the same time and out of the same 

 variety, " Prima Donna." It is one of the most 

 remarkable things in horticulture that the Sweet 

 Pea, after remaining practically constant in form 

 for 200 years after its introduction into England, 

 should suddenly give rise in several places to the 

 enlarged and beautifully waved form associated 

 with the name of Countess Spencer. The credit 

 of first discovering and introducing this new type 

 will always belong to Mr. Silas Cole, who was 

 gardener to Earl Spencer at Althorp Park, 

 Northampton, in 1901. It was in that year 

 that Mr. Cole set up his remarkable exhibit at 

 the show of the National Sweet Pea Society, 

 at the Royal Aquarium, London, and from 1904, 

 when Countess Spencer was put on the market 

 by Mr. Robert Sydenham, the career of the 

 modern Sweet Pea may be said to have begun. 



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