GARDEN PEAS. 
219 
I think that we may assume that before the introduction of 
the Wrinkled Pea, which I shall shortly touch upon, the culti¬ 
vated Peas of commerce formed two distinct classes, viz. such 
as have white flowers, with white or sometimes bluish-coloured 
seeds, commonly called Garden Peas, all included under the name 
“ Pisum sativum and such as have coloured flowers and 
generally dun, grey, or speckled seeds : these are known as Field 
Peas, or Pisum arvense, which botanical authorities now regard 
as a varietal form of Pisum sativum. I would here remark that 
while rapid and wonderful strides have been made in horticulture 
during the Victorian era, and notably in the introduction of 
culinary vegetables, fruits, and flowers, the great attention and 
labour given to the work by gardeners and others is more clearly 
exemplified, in the vast improvement in Peas—greater, perhaps, 
than in the case of any other culinary vegetable, numbers of 
new varieties having fallen into oblivion through lack of merit, 
while the fittest have survived the test of time. 
Our earliest garden Peas were for a number of years the 
round white-seeded varieties, such as the Early Charlton or 
Fulham, which is regarded as the parent of the Early varieties 
subsequently introduced. It had been in cultivation for years 
previously to the beginning of the present century, and up to 
within the last fifty years was extensively cultivated and esteemed 
as the best Early Pea for garden purposes in commerce. Most 
of the subsequent improvements were only the Charlton, con¬ 
siderably modified in character by selection. This may appear 
to some a startling statement, yet when we consider the clearly 
ascertained effects and changes which result from cultivation, it 
is not improbable, especially as the Pea is susceptible of marked 
variation. The Early Charlton or any other variety, if sown 
for several years, and the very earliest on the one hand and the 
latest on the other being selected for seed-bearing each season, 
the difference in the time of ripening between the two will 
ultimately become so great as to constitute two distinct varieties; 
and by sowing the early type on warm light lands the difference 
will be materially increased, not only in the time of ripening, but 
also in the habit of growth. 
I now come to a most important period in the improvement 
of the Pea, viz. the introduction of the Wrinkled type. It is to 
Mr. T. A. Knight, of Elton, near Ludlow, that horticulture is 
