250 
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 
indebted for the development of the Wrinkled Marrow which 
imparted to the Pea a much higher table value. 
In the “ Philosophical Transactions ” for 1799 appears an 
account of some experiments on the fecundation of vegetables, 
made by Mr. T. A. Knight, then President of the Royal Horti¬ 
cultural Society. Mr. Knight says:—“I had a Pea in my garden, 
which having been long cultivated in the same soil had ceased to be 
productive, and did not appear to recover the whole of its former 
vitality when removed to a soil of a somewhat different quality : 
on this my first experiment in 1787 was made. When the 
blossoms were matured I introduced the farina of a large and 
luxuriant grey Pea into the one half, leaving the others as they 
were. The pods of each grew equally well, but I soon saw that 
in those whose blossoms I had not fertilised the seeds remained 
undeveloped and finally withered. Those in the other pods 
attained maturity, but were not sensibly different to those of 
other plants of the same variety. 
“ In the succeeding spring, however, the difference became 
very obvious, for the plants rose from them with increased 
luxuriance, and the colour of their leaves and stems clearly 
indicated that they had changed their whiteness for the colour 
of the male parent, the seeds produced in autumn being dark 
grey. By introducing the farina of another white variety (or, in 
some instances, by simple culture) this colour was easily dis¬ 
charged, and a numerous variety of new kinds produced, many of 
which were in size and every other respect much superior to the 
original white kind, and grew with excessive luxuriance, some to 
the height of more than 12 feet. I observed a stronger tendency 
to produce purple blossoms and coloured seeds than white ones, 
for when I introduced the farina of a purple blossom into a white 
one the whole of the seeds the next year became coloured ; but 
when I tried to discharge this colour by reversing the process a 
part only afforded plants with white blossoms, this part some¬ 
times occupying one end of the pod, and being at other times 
irregularly interspersed with those which when sown retained 
their colour. 
“ As the offspring of a White Pea is always white unless the 
farina of a coloured kind is used on it, and as the colour of the 
grey one is always transferred to its offspring, it occurred to 
me] that if the farina of both were mingled or applied at the 
