DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES 



25 



Evesham, Warwickshire, previous to 1837, when it was 

 called a great acquisition. It was listed in America in 

 1843 and again in 1859. 



Rogers believed it "an improvement of Double 

 Frame in the pod," a good early pea, prolific, about the 

 height of Early Frame; it was tested in the garden of 

 the Horticultural Society of London in 1849, and con- 

 sidered " in general " Early Frame; but in later tests 

 at Chiswich in 1860 Early Warwick was found " very 

 different from the variety to which it was originally 

 applied," the one raised near Evesham. It was then 

 a " single-blossomed " pea, somewhat earlier than the 

 " double-blossomed " l Frames of those days. It grad- 

 ually lost its single-blossomed character and at time of 

 the test had become identical with the ordinary Early 

 Frames. 



Burr says " Now considered identical with Early 

 Frame " but once at the head of early peas. 



It is described as 3 feet tall, of strong growth ; pods of good 

 size, full, round, long, containing 7-8 peas, of excellent quality; 

 hardy, early, and very prolific. It followed Sangster No. 1 in 

 season. 



In 1865 Gardeners' Chronicle says it has superseded 

 Early Waterloo, Charlton, Hotspur, Prince Albert and 

 Early Kent (or May). It is very little, if at all, culti- 

 vated anywhere now. 



Early Emperor. Refs. 36-41; Gard. Chron. 797. 

 1845; 1. 1846; 382. 1848; 582. 1856; and 487. 1857; 

 Hovey Cars. 1854 and 1859; Mcintosh Bk. Gard. 7:57. 

 1855; U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt. (Agr.): 314. 1857; Roy. 

 Hort. Soc. Jour. 12:5. 1890. Syn. 13, Michaux de 

 Hollande. In a survey of pea varieties in 1892, Early 

 Emperor is reported as grown before 1837, but the 

 earliest record we find is an advertisement for it in 1845, 

 by Warner and Warner, Cornhill, London, undoubtedly 

 the introducers. It was mentioned by Hovey in 1849, 

 probably from English descriptions ; was listed by his firm 

 in 1854; was tested in Mississippi in 1856; and reported 

 in 1867 as doing well in Alabama where Eugenia [e], or 

 Alliance, failed. It was evidently a favorite in the South 

 where " pork and bacon peas " were popular. 



Earlier English descriptions give height 2 feet, " earliest in 

 cultivation, hardy, good cropper, fine pods of delicious flavor; " 

 later ones, " slender habit of growth always with single stem, 2}^ 

 to 3 feet high, 8-10 pods, 2j^ to 3 inches long, as broad as Sangster 

 No. 1, but appears slender because of length, generally single, 

 perfectly straight as they approach ripeness, almost blunt-ended, 

 with seven peas, white when ripe. Does not compare at all in 

 earliness with Sangster's No. 1, and Dillistone's Early," and " more 

 prolific but poorer flavor than Sangster's No. 1." 



In 1890 it was said to be " now dropping out of 

 cultivation; " but in France in 1906, Denaiffe gives a 

 quite full description of it as Michaux de Hollande, 

 distinguishing it from Caractacus and Prince Albert. 

 Denaiffe's description differs but slightly from those of 

 what was probably the same pea grown here in 1884 

 under the names " Dwarf Michaux de Hollande " and 

 " Michaux ordinaire de Paris " (N. Y. Sta. Rpt. 3:251, 



253. 1885). Both were shorter-stemmed and plumper- 

 podded than Early Emperor tested here recently from 

 seed produced in France. 



Height, 4 feet; stem stout, angular; foliage abundant to dense, 

 dark green, leaflets more often in 3 pairs than in previous varieties, 

 large to medium in size, quite broad, often slightly toothed or notched 

 on margins toward tip: stipules deeply clasping, slightly larger than 

 leaflets, with sharp tips and heavy teeth one-third distance from base 

 to tip, slightly whitened and with slight bloom; flowers at 8th to 

 10th node, white, single or frequently paired; pods narrower, 

 slightly more curved and more wrinkled than those of Early Frame; 

 peas smaller; seeds smoother, and less often shaded green, but other- 

 wise like those of Early Frame. The greater height than in earlier 

 descriptions, and the slenderness of the pods, probably indicate 

 degeneration in the modern strain, or poor selection. 



Early Emperor is still grown in France, as peas 

 of this type are more popular on the Continent than 

 they are in England or the northern sections of the 

 United States. 



Prince Albert. Refs. 13, 51-55; White Cat. 1846; 

 Gard. Chron. 559, 574, 630, 645, 662. 1843; and 373. 

 1844; Mag. Hort. 10:91. 1844; Gard. Chron. 52, 67, 

 199. 1850; Jour. Hort. Soc. Lond. 4:270. 1848; Mag. 

 Hort. 16:67. 1850: Mcintosh Bk. Gard. 2:55. 1855; 

 Burr Fid. Gard. Veg. 544. 1863. Prince Albert has 

 been a very famous pea. It was grown before 1837, 

 but the first direct reference to it found is an advertise- 

 ment in 1842 by its introducers, Cormack and Oliver. 

 It came to the United States in 1845, and was listed 

 within a short time by several seedsmen. From tests in 

 the garden of the Horticultural Society of London it 

 was considered a seedling of Early Kent, and pronounced 

 the best early pea, preceding by ten days any other vari- 

 ety sown. Its introducers called it a 42-day pea; but 

 growers and seedsmen disputed for several years over 

 the relative earliness of this strain, Superior First 

 Early, Early Kent, Early Emperor, Double-blossomed 

 Early Frame, Early Warwick, Early Hero, and Early 

 May. Burr gives a rather detailed description of it and 

 Denaiffe draws distinctions between this and other 

 strains. 



Height 2 to 3 feet, more dwarf than older varieties of the group 

 but requiring support; stem slender, very seldom branched, inter- 

 nodes long; flowers begin 5th node, white, Burr says paired, Denaiffe 

 usually single in distinction from Caractacus; pods in 6—7 tiers or 

 circles around the stem, 2 to 2% inches long, straight or very slightly 

 bent backward, round, fairly plump, tapering abruptly at both ends, 

 well filled; peas 6-7, of excellent quality; seeds round, cream colored, 

 nearly white about eye and along median line; very prolific and 

 very early. 



Prince Albert was, at one period, the most popular 

 of all the early varieties; and was cultivated in almost 

 every part of the United States. As found in the 

 gardens in 1863 it was not distinguishable from some 

 forms of Early Frame and was being superseded by 

 Daniel O'Rourke, Dillistone Early and other improved 

 strains. Tho still cataloged by a few English and 

 Continental seedsmen and recently grown in United 

 States Department of Agriculture tests, it is probably 



1 " Double-blossomed " means, not that the parts of the flower were doubled, but that the flower stalk was branched, each of the 

 two divisions bearing a flower — the condition we now speak of as flowers or pods in pairs or paired. 



