VEGETABLE CULTIVATION DURING QUEEN VICTORIA'S REIGN. 367 



and Mr. Laxton were introduced, amongst them being Prince 

 of Wales, Dr. McLean, Omega, William the First, and William 

 Hurst, all of which are more or less popular at the present day. 

 During the same period the first results attained by the veteran 

 William Culverwell — whose excellent work deserves grateful 

 recognition from all who value Marrowfat Peas — came to light 

 in Telegraph, Telephone, Stratagem, and Pride of the Market, 

 which varieties were introduced by Messrs. Carter. By this time 

 Henry Eckford was endeavouring, and with considerable 

 success, to infuse the blood of Ne Plus Ultra into a dwarfer race 

 of Peas. From various sources appeared during the next few 

 years Autocrat, Duke of Albany (which is certainly one of the 

 most popular Peas of the present day), Sharpe's Queen, Webb's 

 Wordsley Wonder, and others. In 1881 my house introduced 

 American Wonder, which is still more extensively grown than 

 any other early dwarf wrinkled Pea. 



I should have preferred on this occasion to have made no 

 allusion to the work of my firm in connection with the Pea, but 

 I think all present will agree that no sketch would be complete 

 without referring to the first early wrinkled Marrowfat varieties 

 which have been introduced during the past few years, and in 

 the selection of which I have personally been so much interested. 

 I allude especially to May Queen (Fig. 91), A 1, Empress of India, 

 Seedling, Excelsior, and Forcing, which have attracted so much 

 attention at recent Temple Shows. 



Our aim has been to replace the small, hard, round-seeded 

 varieties, upon which the public formerly depended for their first 

 supply, with Peas of dwarf growth, but equally early, and pro- 

 ducing pods as large as Telephone, Duke of Albany, and Peas of 

 that class, containing large wrinkled Peas of Marrowfat flavour, 

 and we have succeeded beyond our most sanguine expectations. 

 In Peas of a later class we have introduced other popular 

 varieties, such as Pioyal Jubilee, Perfection (Fig. 92), Windsor 

 Castle, Exhibition, Magnum Bonum, Late Queen, and others. 

 The eagerness with which all these new Peas have been sought 

 after as soon as they have been tried attests their value, and it is 

 personally gratifying to me to know that Her Majesty — in whose 

 honour we are met to-day — allowed the collection of Peas 

 staged at the Temple Show in 1896 to be placed in the Entrance 

 Hall at Windsor Castle for her personal examination, and 



