252 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



"I have raised some new varieties of Peas. In 1820 I 

 crossed the Prolific Blue with pollen of a dwarf Pea, and ob- 

 tained three pods of seeds. On opening them I found that the 

 colour, instead of being a deep blue like the parent, was a 

 yellowish-white like the male. These white seeds produced 

 some pods with all blue, and some with white seeds and 

 some with both colours mixed." I can find no record as to 

 when these Peas were sent out, or if sent out, by what names. 



It is therefore quite certain that we are indebted to Mr. 

 Thomas Andrew Knight, President of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society, for the introduction of the Wrinkled Pea, and that he ob- 

 tained them by crossing some of the round White and Grey sorts. 

 From their remarkable wrinkled appearance, together with the 

 peculiar sweetness they possess, Knight's Marrow Peas may be 

 said to have originated a distinct class of Garden Peas, possessing 

 qualities which, together with their general productiveness, 

 rendered them a valuable acquisition both to cultivators and 

 consumers. Knight's Peas were therefore the origin of the 

 numerous family of Wrinkled Peas that have succeeded them, 

 both dwarf and tall, early and late. 



It now remains to follow the development of the Wrinkled 

 Pea after Mr. Knight's introductions. I have failed to discover 

 when these Peas were first introduced to commerce, and the 

 earliest mention of them I have been able to trace is in Page's 

 "Prodromus," 1817, which gives the names of twenty-three 

 varieties of Garden Peas, among them Tall Marrowfat White, 

 Tall Marrowfat Green, and Tall Knight's Marrowfat ; but no 

 clue is given to the colour of the seeds. They were also offered 

 by Messrs. Kichard Gregory & Son, of Cirencester, in the year 

 1818. 



Henry Miller, in " The History of Cultivated Vegetables, 

 1822," says : — " The principal kinds of Peas are Early Frame, 

 Early Charlton, Dwarf Imperial, Dwarf Spanish, Blue Prussian, 

 White Prussian, Sugar Peas, White Bounceval, Rose Crowned, 

 Knight's Superb," but here again it is not stated if it is tall or 

 dwarf, white or blue seeded. 



I think we may assume as certain that Mr. Knight, in his 

 experiments, found both Tall and Dwarf Peas in the same pods, 

 and that these gradually became known to gardeners and Pea 

 growers, and were generally quoted in seedsmen's catalogues 

 about 1 820, 



