94 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



March, 1913 



Boston Unrivalled 

 Useful for succession 



article, allowances 

 must be made for 

 local conditions gov- 

 erning soil, climate 

 and weather. For 

 instance, Pedigree 



Extra Earlies sown two weeks later on muck 

 soil grew nearly as large as Sutton's Excel- 

 sior, with five to eight peas per pod. Sutton's 

 Excelsior planted on sandy soil at the same 

 time as the clay soil trials, furnished neither 

 the well-filled pods nor as many of them. 

 Thos. Laxton did not come up to the Little 

 Marvel in productiveness and it certainly 

 could not beat it in quality. But a good 

 strain of all those mentioned will do as well 

 as any and better than do many of the 

 multitude of kinds offered by our seedsmen. 

 Test all of them, find out which do best on 

 your soil, and how the successive crops turn 

 out. Study all conditions, make notes and 

 in a few years you should have the grow- 

 ing of peas reduced to a science. 



PedigreeExtra 

 Early is the only 

 smooth-seeded 

 pea recommen- 

 ded in this col- 

 lection of " ten 

 ideal" American 

 peas. It is a 

 wonderful sort 



in many respects, truly "pedigreed" 

 and will always do as expected. Un- 

 less conditions are exceptionally ab- 

 normal, Pedigree Extra Early will produce 

 a crop in fifty days from date of planting. 

 The crop will be ready all at once — often 

 a great advantage, since one picking will 

 clear the vines which may then be "dug 

 under" and the space be utilized for a 

 second crop. Sown rather thickly in a 

 broad furrow, this sort will prove very 

 productive. On an average, I counted five 

 light green pods to a plant and each pod 

 averaged six peas of only fair quality. 

 But the "first peas of the season" are 

 always sweet and Pedigree Extra Early is 

 of "delightful" flavor until you taste 

 Gradus, five to six days later — then the 

 birds can have the rest of Pedigree. 



Gradus, while only five to six days later 

 than the preceding variety offers an un- 

 rivaled combination of quality and size in 

 a pea of great earliness. Notice, however, 

 that quantity is absent — Gradus by nature 

 is a shy yielder, and those, who study cata- 

 logues thoroughly, may have noticed 

 that this reflects on the price of the seed. 

 Nevertheless, Gradus maintains its place 

 as the earliest, largest podded, wrinkle- 

 seeded pea of fine quality. On vines 

 only slightly taller than those of Pedigree 

 Extra Early, Gradus bears handsome, dark 

 green pods three to four inches long. They 

 contain on an average five large, elongated 



dark green peas which are literally "as 

 sweet as sugar." The bearing season of 

 Gradus is just at its height when Pedigree 

 Extra Early is exhausted, so that there need 

 be absolutely no gap in the supply of early 

 green peas in a well managed home garden. 

 Little Marvel is one of the latest pets of 

 Mr. C. N. Keeney, who has more really 

 valuable sorts of peas to his credit than any 

 other breeder in America. A marvel in 

 earliness and productiveness, with vines 

 even dwarfer than those of Pedigree Extra 

 Early, Little Marvel presents the "comme il 

 faut" in peas — as a French friend of mine 

 expresses it. Think of a dandy, dwarf but 

 robust vine, not more than eighteen inches 

 tall, bearing five to eight good-sized 



pods, frequently in pairs! These pods are 

 filled with seven to eight medium sized, 

 dark green round peas of superb quality. 

 So tightly are these peas "squeezed" in the 

 pods that frequently the end of a pod is 

 forced open. No other pea that has come 

 under my observation in the last ten years 

 has created as much just enthusiasm. 



Sutton's Excelsior is, in my estimation, a 

 sadly underrated variety. Personally, I 

 consider it at least equal to Gradus in 

 quality and surely superior in productive- 

 ness. While pods of Sutton's Excelsior are 

 larger than those of Little Marvel, they will 

 not "shell out" as much, but the peas will 

 certainly taste like more. Four to five 

 light green pods per plant and six to eight 

 light, creamy peas per pod constitute the 

 average. Where gardeners can afford to 



Buttercup 

 For first late 



wait, it will pay them to give Sutton's 



Excelsior a thorough try-out alongside of 



Gradus. While it comes into market about 



four days later, it bears longer and there 



are more and better filled pods per row 



of equal length. Sutton's Excelsior 



beats Little Marvel in looks, but 



that's all. 



Thomas Laxton should be called "Tall 

 Marvel." With pods not unlike those 

 of Little Marvel, Thomas Laxton de- 

 velops a prolificacy that is astonishing. 

 It may be termed "the most thoroughbred 

 early pea." It is the tallest of the early 

 sorts, bears six to eight pods per plant and 

 the pods average six dark green peas of 

 superfine quality. In cooking tests made 

 with a score of sorts a few years ago, four 

 peas scored distinctly higher points than all 

 the rest and Thomas Laxton was the only 

 early pea among the four. However, it now 

 has a rival in Little Marvel — try them both, 

 there is room for both in every garden. 



Alderman is my choice of the midseason 

 sort that "saves the day" when the early 

 kinds begin to give out. It is distinctly 

 different in habit of growth from all the 

 sorts described so far, becoming five to 

 six feet tall on fair soil in favorable seasons. 

 It should always be supported with 

 brush or trellises constructed of 

 stakes and twine. Be not reluctant 

 to render Alderman this assistance 

 for it will amply 

 repay you with 

 magnificent, 

 large pods 

 which are 

 borne singly, 

 six to eight per 

 plant. Usually, 

 the pods contain seven large, elongated, dark 

 green peas fully up to the standard in qual- 

 ity established by the earlier dwarf sorts. 



Boston Unrivalled, with vines fully as tall 

 as those of Alderman, has a bearing season 

 that leads us right on to the choice late 

 sorts described next. While it does not 

 yield quite as many pods as Alderman and 

 the pods are not as well filled, the peas are 

 of darker green color and perhaps a little 

 sweeter. Its season of bearing makes 

 Boston Unrivalled indispensable to the gar- 

 dener who desires an uninterrupted succes- 

 sion while the handsome pods and delicious 

 peas always secure a pleasant memory. 



Buttercup — When Alderman and Boston 

 Unrivalled are at their best, contributing 

 peas fit for a gourmet, along comes Butter- 

 cup to lengthen the season of bearing and 



increase the 

 quantity of de- 

 licious peas 

 available by the 

 end of June. 

 Buttercup is a 

 beautiful, light 

 green pea with 



^^" rniT ri 1 1 



