130 THE LADIES' FLOWER-GARDEN 
Stakes, as, if sufiFered to trail on the ground, they will produce very few flowers, and in wet seasons the stalts 
will rot. They look exceedingly well if suffered to climb through the boughs of a thick bush, or low tree, so 
that their flowers may be relieved by a mass of leaves. The name of this Vetch is not in the seedsmen's 
catalogues, but seeds might easily be obtained through M. Vilmorin, from Paris. 
OTHER SPECIES OF VICIA. 
These are very numerous ; but it does not appear to us that any of them require very particular 
description. The flowers and leaves all bear a great resemblance to each other, and the principal diflferences 
consist in the colours of the flowers, which vary from white, blue, and pinkish, to dark purple. 
GENUS VII. 
LATHYRUS, Lin. THE LATHYRUS, OR ORNAMENTAL PEA. 
Lin. Syat. DIADELPHIA DECANDRIA. 
Generic CHiHACTi«.-r-Calyx campanulatc, 5-cleft, 2 superior lobes shorteBt. Style flattened, dilated at the apex, villous or pubewent in front. 
Legume many-seeded. Usually climbing tendrilled herbs, with purple, white, or yellow flowers. — (G. Don.) 
Description, &c. — The sweet pea and the other ornamental kinds of Lathyrus are so well known, and such 
universal favourites, that it is sufficient to mention their names, to call up clear ideas of them to every mind. If 
well trained, they are very ornamental ; but few plants have a more disorderly and untidy effect if they are 
neglected. They are thus well suited for the culture of a lady, as they require continual watering, tying up, and 
cutting off of dead flowers or bruised branches. 
1.— LATHYRUS ODORATUS, Lin. THE SWEET PEA. 
Enoravings. — Bot. Mag. t. 60 ; and out Jig. 1, in Plate 23. 
Varieties. — There are six distinct kinds of sweet pea in constant 
oultivation, all of which, with very few exceptions, come true from seed. 
These are the purple, which has the standard of a deep rich reddish 
purple, the wings pinkish, and the keel nearly white, and is a native of 
Sicily ; the new Painted Lady, which has the standard deep rose- 
colour, the wings pale rose, and the keel pure white, and is a native of 
Ceylon ; the white sweet pea, which has the flowers a pure white ; 
the Old Painted Lady, which has the wings and keel white, and the 
standard flesh-coloured ; the blue, which has the wings and keel a pale 
blue, and the standard dark bluish purple ; and the violet, which has 
the keel a pale violet, the wings a deep violet, and the standard a dark 
reddish purple. 
Specific Character. — Plant hairy. Stems winged. Leaflets ovate, 
mucronulate. Stipules semi-sagittate, lanceolate, much shorter than 
the petioles. Peduncles 2-3-flowered,'much longer than the leaves. 
Calycine teeth broad, longer than the tube. Legumes oblong-linear, 
compressed, hairy. Seeds roundish. — (G. Don.) 
Description, &c. — The sweet pea is the plant that is said to have given to Linnaeus the idea of calUng all 
similarly shaped flowers, papilionaceous, from the great resemblance of its flower to a butterfly on the wing. 
However this may be, it is certain that this flower shows distinctly the wonderful manner in which every part 
of it has been contrived to fulfil the end in view. The formation of the pod requires that the whole of the pollen 
should be preserved, as unless there be a sufficient quantity to pass through the stigma down the tube to which the 
peas are affixed, so as to fertilise each, the seed would be imperfect. To preserve the pollen uninjured and 
undiminished, the anthers are enclosed in the keel ; and the necessary openings for air in this are protected by 
tlio wings ; while the standard acts as a sail to keep the flower with its back to the wind, and thus a whole 
