434 GENERAL REVIEW. 



before the flowers expand, and this is especially the case with 

 the earliest flowers, so that it is necessary to emasculate the 

 female or seed-bearing parent some days before the bud is 

 ready for opening its petals to the sun, and this is best done 

 by slitting the bud with a keen penknife, after which carefully 

 cut out all the anthers with a pair of sharp-pointed scissors, 

 and if the surface of the stigma is moist or glutinous, apply the 

 pollen from the desired male parent. The pods from fertilised 

 flowers should be labelled with the names of the parents, and 

 need careful protection from birds. 



The late Dr Maclean raised some very fine varieties of Peas, 

 his " Advancer " and " Best of all " being two of the best. 

 The late Mr John Standish 'commenced hybridising Peas in 

 1869, with the view of obtaining dwarf early marrow-fat varieties, 

 combining the quality of our richly-flavoured marrow-fats with 

 the precocity of our earliest round sorts. With this object in 

 view, he took "Ne Plus Ultra," one of our best but latest 

 marrow Peas, as the female parent, and hybridised it with 

 " Laxton's Supreme," an unquestionably fine second-early pea, 

 but wanting in flavour. In 1870 the selection from the previous 

 year was further crossed with " Climax," an early dwarf marrow- 

 fat, but possessing the disadvantage of not filling the pods 

 well, yet having the rich flavour of the marrow-fats. A selection 

 was again made, and in 1871 these were crossed with Laxton's 

 " Alpha " and Macleah's " Little Gem," and the race of seed- 

 ling Peas growing this (1875) Y ear at Ascot show that earliness, 

 combined with flavour, has been obtained. The "Criterion" 

 is one of the best of these seedlings. One of the finest of all 

 new Peas is " Dr Maclean," sent out by Mr C. Turner in 1876. 



Mr Laxton, of Stamford, has originated a race of very valu- 

 able large-podded varieties, and also some dwarf early kinds of 

 great merit, and some of the best of these are included in the 

 following list : 



Alpha. Blue wrinkled marrow. Raised from Laxton's Pro- 

 lific, crossed with Maclean's Advancer. 3 to 4 feet. 



Supreme. Early green marrow, the result of a cross between 

 Laxton's Prolific and Little Gem. 3 to 4 feet, very prolific, 8 

 to 10 peas in a pod. 



William the First. Early green marrow, 4^ to 5 feet high, 

 with habit of the frame class, but related to Prizetaker. 



Superlative. Second early marrow, 7. to 8 feet in height ; a 

 cross between Ne Plus Ultra and a variety from Supreme. 



Supplanter. Second early blue, very prolific, a great im- 

 provement on Scimitar ; a cross between Veitch's Perfection 

 and Little Gem. 



