258 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



into existence, namely, the growing and disposing of Blue Boiling 

 Peas. These are sold in the large manufacturing and colliery 

 towns to the extent of many hundreds of quarters. They are 

 used in the winter season as a vegetable, and properly cooked are 

 a good substitute for fresh green Peas. They are also sold to 

 workmen early in the morning hot from stalls, and served with 

 butter and salt. Many hundreds, I may say thousands, of acres 

 are used to grow these Peas, and as they are mostly hand-picked 

 it employs an immense number of women and girls to do this 

 work. 



I wish to say a few words on the great difficulty in cross- 

 fertilising and raising new Peas. The operation is one requiring 

 the utmost care and the finest touch in properly and successfully 

 manipulating the flowers. This information has been given me 

 by a friend of mine who has made the matter his particular 

 study. 



The flower of the variety selected as the seed parent should 

 be secured some time before it approaches the opening stage, as if 

 not operated upon at the right time it may become self -fertilised. 

 Having selected the two varieties of Peas to be crossed, the operator 

 carefully opens the undeveloped petals of the seed parent, re- 

 moving delicately and carefully by means of forceps the unde- 

 veloped anthers upon which appear the pollen grains, but which 

 at this stage are not active. The next process is to take the other 

 bloom selected just as the pollen grains are maturing upon the 

 anthers, and by the assistance of a fine camel's-hair brush care- 

 fully dust with pollen the stigma of the seed-bearing blossom ; 

 when the viscid substance upon the stigma dissolves the pollen 

 grains they pass into a tube below, the lower end of which is 

 connected with each ovule contained in the ovary ; and as the 

 dissolved grains pass into the ovules fertilisation is completed. 



The operation thus performed, the operator carefully covers 

 up the stigma with the petals of the flower to prevent contact 

 by the elements, or by insect agency, Arc, and the fertilised 

 blossom is covered with a thin piece of muslin or cotton shading. 



The act of crossing has been performed with marked success, 

 and the changes thus brought about will manifest themselves in 

 successive generations. Supposing a fertilised pod produces six 

 seeds, and if each of the six seeds be sown and they germinate, 

 and the produce of each of the six seeds be sown by themselves, 



