EARLY HISTORY 5 



Although these are the circumstances which attended 

 the introduction of the Sweet Pea into Great Britain, the 

 plant had already been referred to in botanical works, for 

 Mr. S. B. Dicks, who searched wide and long to compile 

 the early history of the flower for the Bicentenary Cele- 

 bration Festival, found it mentioned in the Histories Plan- 

 tarum of Johannes Bauhinus, dated 1650-51. Robert 

 Morrison of London mentions a Lathyrus latifolius annuls 

 in 1669, but this differed from the fragrant Sicilian flower. 

 John Ray, also of London, alluded to it as Lathyrus major 

 e Sicilies in his Historia Plantarum, published between 1686 

 and 1704. In addition to the seeds which Cupani forwarded 

 to Dr. Uvedale, he sent some to Casper Commelin, and what 

 was, apparently, the first illustration, was prepared from 

 flowers grown from these seeds. This picture appeared 

 in the Horti-Medici Amstelodamensis. Subsequently Joannis 

 Burmannis, in 1737, described Lathyrus Zeylanicus, and 

 spoke of it as differing only from the Lathyrus of 

 Cupani in the variety of the flower. Further experience 

 proved that they were one and the same species, and 

 from that species all modern Sweet Peas have been 

 derived. 



Even in those days the flower was found to be variable, 

 and it is possible that if the florists had not purposely 

 selected and fixed the old-fashioned varieties with smooth 

 and hooded standards, we should never have worried about 



