12 



The Florists' Review 



iVLX '2, liil4. 



■' "' <■ "■ 



the wiater-flowering Spencers. TUe 

 American Sweet Pea Society has helped 

 to advertise the sweet pea for us all 

 and has helped to put it on the horti- 

 cultural map. 



1 regret that the American Sweet 



Pea Society has not received from some 



quarters the support it deserved, but 



, then, this is simply the history of all 



societies. 



I want to thank the horticultural, 

 press at this time, however, for its un- 

 qualified support, and the gentlemen 

 who are not only members but who 

 have given their time and financial sup- 

 pi&rt far b«^aad..Utei£ obligations to the 

 society. 



We have today, all told, about 200 

 -members in good standing and fourteen 

 life members. Our financial condition 

 is healthy; no big surplus, but money 

 enough to take care of all obligations. 

 At)art from the exhibition, we do not 

 owie a penny, and this is so far financed 

 that we shall more than come out even, 

 through guarantees, donations and 

 prizes generously ofifered by the trade 

 and others. We have no "paid officers. 



During the last six years we have 

 held nine exhibitions; six summer and 

 three winter; two in New York, under 

 the auspices of the Horticultural So- 

 ciety of New York; two in Boston, 

 under the auspices of the Massachusetts 

 Horticultural Society; one in Philadel- 

 phia, under the auspices of the Penn- 

 sylvania Horticultural Society, and 

 three winter exhibitions in cooperation 

 with the S. A. F. national and other 

 flower shows, awarding during that 

 time nearly $10,000 in cash, cups, 

 medals and other prizes in kind. 



Affiliation. 



T hear some one say, ' ' How about 

 affiliation?" which reminds me of a 

 letter I received today from a member 

 who resigned, saying he could not af- 

 ford to be continually paying dues to 

 so many societies. I wrote him that I 

 was feelina; the same way and sug- 

 guested a blanket due covering all so- 

 eities. If the S. A. F. should say to us 



as a mother society, ' ' Come and sit 

 on our knee and tell us aU your 

 troubles and let us see if we cannot 

 help you and your good work along," 

 I think we would at least meet her half 

 way. 'Tis trile we have not received 

 any help directly, though her members 

 are always willing to support us finan- 

 cially and morally. I am grateful for 

 all this support, and also especially to 

 the Horticultural Society of New York, 

 the Massachusetts HorMeultural Society 

 and the Pennsylvania Horticultural So- 

 ciety, which have been more than gen- 

 erous and courteous in the past. The 

 future^ too, i& bjci^ghter ta da^ than ever 

 for our youthful and useful society, and 

 in conclusion I might add the prophetic 

 simile of the Rev. W. T. Hutehins: 



"The sweet pea has a keel that was 

 meant to seek all shores; it has wings 

 that were meant to fly across all con- 

 tinents; it has a standard which is 

 friendly to all nations; it has a fra- 

 grance like the universal Gospel; yea, a 

 sweet prophecy Of welcome everywhere 

 that has been abundantly fulfilled." 



cuth3:bbtson on sweet feas. 



r Extracts from a paper by Frank G. Cutbbert- 

 son, of San Francisco, Cal., read at the alxtli 

 HBDual convention of the American Sweet Pea 

 Society. In New York, June 27, 1914.] 



The first line along which we should 

 consider our subject is naturally the 

 raising of varieties. 



The historical records of the sweet 

 pea were first noticed by Cupani, a 

 monk in Sicily, ifi the year 1699 and a 

 few seeds were sent to England. 



It was not long before variations took 

 place and about the year 1793 we find 

 that black, purple, scarlet and ^hite 

 varieties were offered for sale. Seven 

 years later a black-purple was offered 

 and thirty-seven years later a striped- 

 flowered variety could be had. In 1860 

 the first edged variety appeared. Ten 

 years later Henry Eckford, whose name 

 will be associated with sweet peas as 

 long as sweet peas are grown, began 

 his great life work. Varieties now came 

 much faster, but at first the stocks were 



The Best Twenty-five Varletiet, from Wm. Gray, Newport, R. I. 



(From left to right aboye the Peas: Arthur Kirby, F. O. Cnthbertson, Wm. Tricker, C. H. Totty.) 



bgcQy Wij^ed. While igBoraaJ; of the 

 laws of Mendelism, £c](£<krd by eareful 

 selection was afterward able to put his 

 novelties on the market fixed. The va- 

 rieties of the past and their coloring 

 miist have been considered wonderful 

 and to read over some of the descrip- 

 tions giveii is now amusing when we 

 think of present-day flowers. 



About twenty-six years ago sweet 

 peas were first grown for seed in G*li- 

 fornia and there were then only a dozen 

 varieties. . Blanche Ferry was the first 

 novelty ever ofifered in America and it 

 created quite a sensation. I understand 

 this variety wa«. found by ^Pcof^war 

 Tracy growing in a country garden. 

 There were many novelties so ai8<?ov- 

 ered and I fear that many varieties that 

 were claimed to be crosses were o»ly 

 had by crossing the field to find them. 



The graudiflora, as years went by, 

 was improved mueh in form a«d siae. 

 From the hooded type an advance was 

 made to the open type and greater sub- 

 stance was bred for. 



Arriyal of tlie ^iratioera. 



The coming of the Sp^AOAfs in 1901 

 is well known to everyone. How this 

 flower captivated all growers and 

 brought about present conditions in the 

 sweet pea world is well known. We 

 have to be thankful, however, that the 

 original Spencer sweet pea was such a 

 beauty, as had the Spencer form first 

 appeared as some of our varieties to- 

 day, the names of which I leave to you, 

 I fear it would have passed unnoticed. 



Following Countess Spencer, novelties 

 were showered on the market in pro- 

 fusion, but mostly in a wretched state 

 of unfixedness. Seedsmen were too anx- 

 ious to sell their productions, but grad- 

 ually things have settled down and 

 today the- conditions are much im- 

 proved. 



Besides the coming of Spencers, there 

 were other variations of value. Of 

 these the early flowering type was per- 

 haps the most important, owing to its 

 place with florists. Then the Cupid va-. 

 rieties and bush varieties were intro- 

 duced by the American growers, but 

 these never gained a wide popularity. 



The present day finds us with a list 

 of sweet pea names some 2,000 in 

 number. 



A Selection of Qems. 



From the list we can pick out such 

 gems as King Edward Spencer, Elfrida 

 Pearson, Countess Spencer, George Her- 

 bert, Mrs. Cuthbertson, Melba, Ber- 

 trand Deal, Illuminator, Margaret At- 

 lee, Morse's Monday Morning, Marga- 

 ret Madison II, Miriam Beaver II, Doris 

 IJaher, Helen Lewis, Hercules, King 

 White, Kosabelle, Mrs. C. W. Bread- 

 more, America Spencer, Jessie Cuthbert- 

 son Spencer, E. Y\ Felton, Asta Ohn, 

 Dainty Spencer, Thomw Stevenson, Nu- 

 bian, Vermilion Brilliant, etc. What 

 wonderful coloring has been produced 

 and what remarkable size! Fifteen 

 years ago, had we seen a plant of Prima 

 Donna or Katherine Tracy, bearing four 

 blossoins on one stem, with even a sug- 

 gestion of the size of, say, Elfrida 

 Pearson, even poorly grown, we should 

 have looked for the immediate death 

 of the plant. 



Truly the work of hybridizers has 

 been wonderful, and whoever they may 

 have been, lovers of flowers will pay 

 tribute. The extensive list of Spencers 

 in most wonderful shades of color bears 

 ample testimony to their work. Some 



