DESCRIPTIONS OF VARIETIES 



87 



Sinclair in 1839 catalogs under this name what may be the 

 same variety, with the synonym " Six Weeks; " and also lists in 

 1839 Paris New Early Dwarf. Douglas in 1843 also lists an 

 " Early Dwarf " as " earliest and very productive." 



In the Gardeners' Chronicle for 1844 (p. 66) Thompson 

 Early Dwarf is advertised; and in 1849 this was tested in the 

 gardens of the Horticultural Society of London {Journal of that 

 Society. 1:270). 



Height 2 feet, second early, with small round pods contain- 

 ing 4 5 medium sized peas, tolerably prolific, but not equal to 

 Bishop Long-pod. This or another Early Dwarf was described in 

 Gardeners' Chronicle for 1850, as bearing small, rather broad 

 pods, usually with five peas, of good quality, very prolific and some- 

 times flowering at second or third node. It was said to be superior 

 to Spanish Dwarf and to Bishop Dwarf, although Nain hat if 

 and L'Evergne are given as synonyms, and the latter is the (mis- 

 spelled i French name for Bishop Dwarf. 



Thompson (Card. Asst. 319. 1859) describes an Improved 

 Early Dwarf as really an improvement over his Early Dwarf or 

 Bishop Dwarf because of its greater productivity and larger peas. 



Country Gentleman in 1857 and in 1862 gives brief notes 

 on Comstock Early Dwarf: 



Remarkably early, with rather large pods containing 6 to 

 7 peas, and very productive. In the very hot dry season of 1856, 

 this variety, sown on June 2, furnished edible peas in 38 days and 

 matured in 51 days. 



The Very Early Dwarf described by Goff in 1884, was said 

 to be " probably Nain tres hatif a chassis (Vilm)," a forcing 

 strain of Spanish Dwarf. 



Queen of the Dwarfs. Refs. 30; Thorburn Car. 1873; 

 Hogg Gard. Yr. Bk. 14:91. 1873. Queen of the Dwarfs was 

 introduced in 1845 by Waite, and later was said to have originated 

 with Dr. McLean, from a cross between Beck Gem and a marrow 

 pea. Tho mentioned in American periodicals much earlier, it was 

 apparently not sold here until 1873. Hogg says it was very tender 

 to cold, subject to aphis and generally unworthy. 



It was very dwarf, reaching only 3 4 foot in height; stem 

 thick, succulent, sometimes branching, and foliage of a dark, blue- 

 green color; pods few, short and broad, giving them a peculiar 

 elliptical appearance, peas only 3 or 4, very large; seed white, egg- 

 shaped and irregularly compressed. It was a poor bearer and 

 late. 



Strawberry. Refs. 36, 37. There were evidently several 

 Strawberry peas in America, nearly all dwarf, and poor producers 

 of small, poorly flavored, smooth, white peas; but one strain, said 

 not to be Tom Thumb, grown in 1861, was quite early and full of 

 pods. Some of the strains, Strawberry Vine in particular, were 

 field peas, distinct from Field Creeper. 



Peabody. Refs. 38: Jour. Hort. 48:380. 1872; Country 

 Gent. 38:278. 1873.) When first introduced Peabody was said 

 to be: 



Very dwarf, 1 •4 feet tall and of Tom Thumb habit, branching, 

 with many small bright green leaflets; pods small, rather narrow, 



deep green, well filled; peas 6 or 7, small; prolific and late. Subse- 

 quent references in both England and America make it 2} •> feet tall. 



Dwarf Waterloo. Refs. 39, 40; Gard. Mo. 16:40. 1874. 

 Introduced about 1866; was said by one observer to be a dwarf 

 form of Royal Victory or Waterloo Marrow; and by another to be 

 a much improved Bishop Long-pod. It was listed in America in 

 1869, tried in 1874, and called one of the best of the second early 

 dwarfs, a splendid cropper but not equal in flavor to Burbridge 

 Eclipse. 



Garden Pride. Refs. 41; N. Y. Sta. Rpt. 5:248. 1887; 

 also manuscript notes of this Station, 1886. Introduced by John- 

 son & Stokes about 1883 and tested at this Station and elsewhere. 

 Since it was not listed by the introducers in their catalog of 1892, 

 it was evidently not a popular pea. 



It was very dwarf, stocky-stemmed, 1 to lj^ feet tall; foliage 

 rather deep green, leaflets large toward base of plant but very small 

 toward the tip; pods often paired, short, broad, very plump, pale 

 green, not always well filled; peas rather large, of quality not inferior 

 to Little Gem or American Wonder; seeds were large and nearly 

 smooth. Quite early. 



Very Dwarf Cotourier (Ref. 42) was grown in America 

 probably only at this Station, where it was tested in 1884. It is 

 still grown in France. 



It was very dwarf and stocky, with exceedingly short inter- 

 nodes, very deep green foliage and very small leaflets, glaucous 

 stipules usually not whitened, pods very pale, very short, plump and 

 blunt ended, quite abundant, produced in midseason, maturing 

 gradually and containing 4 to 6 almost white, roundish, compressed 

 peas and very smooth seeds showing the radicle conspicuously. 



Dwarf Prize (Refs. 43, 44) appears to have been listed from 

 1889 to 1922. It was said to be 1^ 4 feet tall, a stout, productive 

 extra early, ideal for home gardens. The two references may refer 

 to different peas. 



McNeil (Refs. 45, 46) originated in Lake City, Fla., before 

 1891; but came to us from Georgia as Florida McNeil. It is largely 

 grown in the south as a market gardeners' late pea. 



This pea duplicates Horal in size and habit of plants, character 

 and color of foliage, size and shape of pods, number and size of peas, 

 productivity and season; but the pods and peas are light in color 

 and the seeds smooth and cream-colored. 



Dwarf Rural New Yorker (Ref. 47) was introduced in 1892 

 by Alexander as a cross between Rural New Yorker and Little 

 Gem, only a foot tall and very productive. 



Annonay Very Early. Refs. 48-50. Since notice of this 

 pea was found in an American catalog and it was known to be 

 obtainable, seed of it was secured from France and it was grown 

 here for three years. 



It is a typical Tom Thumb in seed, height of plant, abundance 

 and character of foliage, shape of pod, and general appearance of 

 peas; but was somewhat later in season, and the pods were shorter. 



Northern Wonder (Ref. 51) was said on introduction, before 

 1913, to be the finest dwarf, smooth pea yet produced; compact 

 and dwarf in growth, 10 inches tall, early and very productive. 



MINOR VARIETIES OF MARROWFAT GROUP 



SEEDS WHITE 



Rose or Crown. Refs. 27 36; Amer. Agr. 28:45. 1869; 

 Cent. Expt. Farm (Can.) Bui. 39. 1902; Evans Car. 1904. 

 Rose or Crown, the " Scottish or tufted pease " of Parkinson, 

 long and widely grown as a curiosity, has little real value, but is 

 sometimes used as a field pea. The name Mummy, a synonym 

 of Crown, connects the variety with an unbelievable tale of viable 

 peas found in the dust in an Egyptian vase supposed to be nearly 

 3,000 years old. (See Grimstone Egyptian.) The lower joints of 

 the stem of the Crown pea are very long, but the upper ones are 

 much enlarged, often flattened (fasciated) and much shortened, 

 so that the paired or clustered flowers and pods are borne at the 

 top of the plant. 



One of two quite distinct strains has white flowers and white 

 seeds, approaching the Marrowfats in general characters, altho the 

 pods are shorter and peas smaller; the other has pale rose-colored 

 or, in Painted Lady, bicolored flowers, with gray seeds following 

 peas unpalatable because of rather acrid, wild taste. The plants 

 were usually 5 feet or more tall, gave a very good crop of pods late 



in the season for garden peas, and matured about midseason for 

 field pea uses. 



The gray-seeded Mummy pea was grown here for two seasons 

 but considered only a field pea. 



Lady Finger (Refs. 37, 38, 39) is an old variety formerly 

 grown in England, France and America. 



No description of it is available; but De Marly, which it 

 resembles, was a tall pea, 5 Jo to 6 feet, with straight, plump pods of 

 Marrowfat type about 3 inches long, rather blunt-ended, with the 

 large peas " mounding " the sides of the pod. It was ready to use 

 in late midseason, and not very productive. Seeds white. 



Matchless Marrowfat. Refs. 40-44; Lawson Agr. Man. 

 79. 1834; Gard. Chron. 344. 1845; 1017. 1859; and 292. 1865; 

 Burr Fid. Gard. Veg. 542, 543. 1863. This pea was listed in 

 1827 in an American catalog; and Lawson says in 1834 that it 

 was recently introduced by Warner. 



Height 3 to 4 feet, unbranched; pods straight, 3 inches long, 

 very wide, but plump; peas 6-7, large; seeds compressed, irregularly 

 shaped, sometimes slightly wrinkled, white and olive in color. Later 



