ON SWEET PEAS 347 



Let us put into small compass a few facts about the 

 Sweet Pea. It is known to science as Lathyrus odoratus, 

 the name given to it by Linneus. It belongs to the 

 order Leguminosae, or pod-bearers. It is a hardy 

 annual that is, a plant which may be sown out of 

 doors to complete its life-history within a year. It 

 differs from most annuals, however, in being amenable 

 to propagation by cuttings. The flower consists of a 

 large upright petal called the standard, two smaller side 

 ones called the wings, and a bottom one folded in 

 called the keel. The organs of sex are enclosed within 

 the keel, and consist of ten stamens, each with its 

 anthers or pollen case at the top, the pistil with ovary 

 at the base, and stigma at the top. Nominally each 

 Sweet Pea flower is self-fertilised, because the pollen 

 is ripe and the stigma viscid to receive it before the 

 flowers have opened sufficiently for wind or bees to 

 come into play ; in this also it differs from most 

 flowers. When the flowers fade the fused carpels are 

 seen in the form of a boat-shaped body, which extends, 

 and is presently seen to be the seed pod. Each pod 

 contains from eight to twelve seeds. The pods are 

 ready for gathering when they change colour and begin 

 to open. 



Had the Sweet Pea been known in the days of 

 Chaucer, Shakespeare, Spenser, and Ben Jonson, it 

 would have prompted some beautiful images and 

 delightful rhyme. John Keats fell in love with the 

 flower, and wrote of 



" Sweet Peas, on tiptoe for a flight, 

 With wings of gentle flush o'er delicate white, 

 And taper fingers catching at all things, 

 To bind them all about with tiny rings." 



Varieties. The number of varieties of Sweet Peas is 



