DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES 



67 



to 60 days from late sowing or in 63 to 65 days from 

 earlier sowing. For the canners' harvest, from 70 to 

 74 days are required in ordinary seasons, the pods matur- 

 ing quite uniformly. An Improved Advancer, cataloged 

 since 1918, at least, is slightly more dwarf than the old 

 Advancer, more vigorous, with darker, more abundant 

 foliage, rather shorter but plumper pods, and better 

 color in both pods and peas. 



Alpha. Refs. 6, 7; Gard. Chron. 70. 1870; Roy. 

 Hort. Soc. Jour. 12:35. 1890; Thorburn Car. 

 1870; Hogg Gard. Yr. Bk. 11:104. 1873. Alpha 

 differs somewhat from Advancer, but is included in the 

 group as more like Advancer than like any other well- 

 known pea. It originated with Laxton about 1867 

 and was said by Carter, its introducer, to be from a 

 Laxton Prolific x Advancer cross; but Laxton later gave 

 the parents as Little Gem and Ringleader. It created 

 quite a furor and was widely grown in England, in France 

 and in America, which it reached in 1870. Hogg's 

 description and figure of Alpha would place the variety 

 in the Senator group, the pods being decidedly curved 

 and rather slender and the peas small. 



It was grown at this Station from 1882 to 1884, and 

 also in our recent tests from English seed. 



It was earlier than Advancer, more slender-stemmed, rarely 

 branched, with scanty, light green foliage and pale pods, which 

 were shorter and broader than those of Advancer and sometimes 

 slightly curved at the tip. It was not very prolific, but matured its 

 crop promptly. The peas were very large and poorly colored. 



Bliss Abundance. Refs. 11, 12; Rural N. Y. 

 4.'i:52, 99. 1884; Burpee Car. 1893. Bliss Abundance, 

 one of the best known peas of American origin, was, 



surprisingly, introduced first in England about 1883, 

 by Howcroft & Atkins, London. It is said the American 

 originator or introducer (which, is not stated) received 

 $1,000 for the seed sent to England. Abundance origi- 

 nated with Arnold, and was introduced by Bliss, who 

 announced it for sale in America in 1884. It soon estab- 

 lished itself and is still considerably grown. 



It was very dwarf when first introduced, from \}{ to \% feet, 

 but like most varieties not rigidly selected it has increased in height, 

 now generally exceeds 2 feet, and often reaches 3 feet, but is 

 usually half a foot shorter than Advancer under similar conditions; 

 foliage rather more abundant and darker, with slightly larger 

 stipules usually somewhat whitened, and with leaflets very rarely 

 in 6s; pods more frequently paired, slightly longer than those of 

 Advancer (3 J4 inches); peas 8 in the better pods instead of 7 in 

 Advancer. It is slightly later than Advancer and bears as well if 

 not better, in garden tests at least; but the strain used on a canning 

 pea plat was inferior to Advancer in every way. 



Canners' Perfection (Davis' Perfection) is an im- 

 proved Abundance pea, a selection made several years 

 ago by W. A. Davis, then an employee of the Rice Co. — 

 apparently better suited to canners' use than the original 

 strain. Its pods are slightly longer than those of Abun- 

 dance, very plump, not quite so blunt-ended and with 

 smaller tip, better colored, and with more and smaller 

 peas, which are also darker green. The foliage is more 

 dense than that of Abundance, and the leaflets usually 

 in 6s . It bears lower on the vine and the pods are often 

 paired. 



Bliss' Abundance, rather than Sutton Abundance, 

 is probably the variety tested by the Royal Horticul- 

 tural Society in 1926. {Jour. 52:42. 1927.) 



STRATAGEM GROUP 



This is one of the smaller groups of peas, and of 

 somewhat indefinite limits, as the medium-sized pods, 

 with the rounded ends and sharp points rather than 

 definite tips, of Stratagem pass by imperceptible grada- 

 tions to the larger pods of the Telephone group or its 

 dwarf representatives of the Gradus and Laxton ian types; 

 to the large square-ended pods of the tall-vined Ne 

 Plus Ultras or the more dwarf Thos. Laxtons; and to the 

 curved-podded representatives of other adjoining groups. 

 Peas of this group differ from those of the Advancer 

 group mainly in shorter, more bushy plants, long- 

 rounded rather than blunt-ended pods, and rather more 

 coarsely wrinkled peas. 



As the parentage of Stratagem is unknown, the 

 history of the group begins with the variety, which seems 

 to have been a rather distinct break in type from those 

 current when it originated. 



Stratagem. Refs. 1-5; Rural N. Y. 42:149. 

 1883; Johnson Seed Co. Car. 1909. Stratagem was 

 introduced about 1879 by Carter, and was probably a 

 selection made by them from Telephone or Telegraph. 

 Wm. Culverwell, originator of Telegraph, claimed, also, 

 to have found in stock of that variety grown by him, 

 plants that could not be distinguished from Telephone, 

 and others that were identical with Stratagem, both 

 varieties introduced by Carter. Stratagem differed from 



Telegraph in better wrinkling of the seeds, and from 

 both Telegraph and Telephone in dwarfness of plant, 

 and in having shorter, straighter, less pointed pods. 

 Danby Stratagem, introduced by Carter about 10 

 years later, and several Improved and Re-Selected 

 Stratagems listed by other seedsmen, have been almost 

 indistinguishable from well -grown and well-rogued 

 stocks of the original variety. The sporting tendencies 

 of Stratagem have always made it a difficult pea to keep 

 true to its best type; and have led to its practical aban- 

 donment in recent years, tho when introduced it was 

 called the " finest pea in the world " and it received 

 twice the highest award from the Royal Horticultural 

 Society, an honor said not before to have been awarded 

 any variety. Stratagem first reached America in 1883, 

 Improved Stratagem in 1896, and Danby Stratagem in 

 1909. These stocks have now become inextricably 

 mixed, in America, at least; and no recent small-scale 

 tests can be relied on to separate the strains. 



The variety was tried at this Station in 1884: Height \]/i 

 feet; stem remarkably strong, angular, often with medial branches, 

 rarely with basal; with internodes rarely exceeding 2 inches; foliage 

 rather abundant, deep green, much whitened near the base of the 

 plants, remarkably compact near the top of the stem, more or less 

 waved and twisted, similar in some ways to Daisy; pods usually 

 single, on short stalks, of same color as foliage, 2)2 to 4 inches long, 

 often somewhat irregular in shape and rounding very gradually 



