DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES 



31 



stock decidedly larger, on Station soil. The pods were of very 

 good size, frequently reaching 3 inches, and the crops were " very 

 good," decidedly above the average, but in other respects, both 

 strains were typical Extra Earlies, possibly a day earlier than most 

 others. 



Summit. Refs. 195 197. Summit was intro- 

 duced, probably prior to 1889. by Northrup. It was 

 tested in that year at this Station and has been grown 

 here again for three seasons. The successors of the firm 

 introducing the pea say in catalogs that it was 2 ' ■_> feet 

 high, earliest, most even in maturity, and with the 

 largest pods of any extra early variety; but according to 

 a recent letter, they discarded the variety " many years 

 ago." Its curved pods might place it in the Scimitar 

 group. 



The early catalog statements are. in general, confirmed by the 

 first Station tests which adds that the foliage was light green, pods 

 usually single, considerably curved, 2-2 ] •> inches long, slightly 

 wrinkled: peas small, smooth: ready in 51 days, even when sown 

 April 18, picking for more than a month, and " enormously 

 productive." 



The strain must have deteriorated in 30 years; for as grown 

 here recently, from seed from the same firm, it is merely a typical 

 Extra Early, slightly taller. 3 feet, a very poor producer, with slightly 

 larger than average pods, not specially early and with much shorter 

 season than in 1889. 



Bergen Fleetwing. Refs. 198, 199; Kans. Sta. Rpt. 

 1889:152. 1889; Gregory Cat. 1890; N. J. Sta. Rpt. 

 1898:147. 1898. The synonym given by Tracy. Gren- 

 ell's Extra Early Bergen Fleetwing, connects the pea with 

 Grenell. but credit for it is usually given to Gregory; 

 since he speaks of having " raised " this pea, and in 

 English pea literature " raised " usually means origi- 

 nated. In the same reference Gregory calls Bergen 

 Fleetwing a " new " pea; but says " a great favorite 

 with market gardeners on Long Island," which could 

 hardly be true of a really " new " variety. 



A description of the pea, collected from several sources which 

 agree in the main, makes it vary from 1 } i to 3 feet in height: with 

 slender, unbranched vines; foliage light green, or slightly bluish 

 green; leaflets 2-A, smooth, entire, rather obtuse; pods usually 

 single 1 ' i to 2 ' 2 inches long, rather broad, plump, straight or slightly 

 curved, lighter in color than the foliage; with 3-7 peas averaging 

 5.22 from 100 pods in Kansas), seeds yellow, smooth. Season 

 almost if not quite as early as that of Alaska, and picks for over a 

 month; very productive. 



Evidently a typical Extra Early of very good type, 

 but now superseded. 



Eureka Extra Early. Refs. 206, 207; Dreer Cat. 

 1894; Rural N. Y. 5 1:314. 1895; and letter from 

 Dreer, Dec. 8, 1926. Eureka Extra Early, very distinct 

 from Eureka, was introduced in 1879 or 1880 by Dreer. 

 It was a selection from Philadelphia Extra Early. A 

 single plant selection made in 1900 is basis of present 

 stock, considered much improved. Eureka Extra Early 

 was tested at this Station in 1886 and considered not dis- 

 tinct from Philadelphia Extra Early. The data for pods 

 per vine, 4.60 and 9.40, respectively, for Philadelphia 

 and Eureka Extra Early, and of peas per pod 6.01 and 

 6.35, show the latter to have been greatly more produc- 

 tive; and the same comparison holds for the early crops 

 of the two varieties as grown here in recent years. 

 Eureka being specially noted as one of the most produc- 



tive in first picking of any Extra Early; tho the total 

 crop, by reason of its short season, was only fair to 

 good. In the Rural Experiment Garden it gave " most 

 peas of any early round pea ever tried." Dreer says 

 that it is also good for a late fall crop. It is a typical, 

 decidedly short-strawed, productive member of the group, 

 in season with most others, and ripening promptly. 



The Dreer firm says in a letter, quoted under Extra 

 Early Pioneer, that latter is synonymous with Eureka 

 Extra Early; but they differed as grown here. 



Extra Early Market. Refs. 210, 211; S. Dak. 

 Sta. Buls. 83:5. 1904; and 91:4. 1905. Extra Early 

 Market was introduced before 1889 by Thorburn. In 

 1896 it was tested in the Rural Experiment Garden; 

 but the comparison was made with a wrinkled pea, 

 Station, with which it agreed in season, and exceeded 

 by one-fourth in yield; but it was equal in quality only 

 to the best, smooth, extra early peas. 



In connection with the South Dakota cooking tests, 

 which sustained the last statement, data are given to 

 show the variety not especially early, 2 ' 4 to 2 ' L > feet high, 

 with 3-inch, moderately plump pods, often with 6 or 

 7 peas to the pod, which held a good color in cooking. 

 As grown at this Station, it was very close to the group 

 type in all respects except that the pods were more 

 rounded at the ends than blunt; crop fair. 



First and Best. Refs. 214-220; Farquhar Cat. 

 1892; Tait Cat. 1918. Syns. 20 (second), 98 (third), 

 131, 134, 135, 187, 216, 218, 220. First and Best 

 possibly, but not certainly, traces back to Dickson First 

 and Best ; but many American references and synonyms 

 seem to warrant listing the varieties separately. Leon- 

 ard's First and Best of All probably varies only in the 

 name. Almost no early descriptions of the strain are 

 given, but it is considered " an improved type of Daniel 

 O'Rourke," " of same type as Rural New Yorker," or 

 " Rural New Yorker almost identical " and " Dillistone 

 Early a sub-variety; " and was, therefore, a typical 

 Extra Early at least as far back as 1889. 



It has been grown here recently, from seed from three sources, 

 differences in the listed names indicating possible differences between 

 " First and Best," " Selected First and Best," and " Extra Early 

 or First and Best: " but no distinctive characteristics were found 

 for any of the three ; nor any separating the group from others of 

 ! the class. All were single-podded, only fair to good in yield, 

 requiring about 56 days to first picking when sown April 27 or 

 May 1. 



Liiihtniiij* Excelsior (Refs. 222, 223) was intro- 

 duced by Wood about 1888. It has been grown here 

 for four seasons since 1922, using seed obtained at two 

 different times from the introducer. It appears to be a 

 decidedly variant strain, though part of the differences 

 may be accounted for by unlike dates of sowing and 

 changed climatic conditions. 



Seeds for the first strain were very bright cream over orange 

 under color. Sown April 27 or May 1 in successive years the 

 first strain gave edible peas in 57 days, was 2 to lYz feet high; 

 had abundant dark green to medium green foliage, not whitened 

 and almost bloomless, with four leaflets; bore first flowers at 9th 

 node, and mostly single pods, but a few paired ones, on rather long 

 stalks, the pods being from 2 J 2 *° almost 3 inches long, hardly 



