1881.] 
AMERICAS" AGRICULTURIST. 
21 
New Dwarf Pea—“ American Wonder.” 
Perhaps the greatest “Wonder” about this 
Pea is, that it is “American.” There is no 
other garden vegetable in the improvement 
of which so little has been done in this coun¬ 
try as for the Pea. In England several new 
varieties, or at least new names, are brought 
out every year ; they are not usually any bet¬ 
ter than the old varieties, though sometimes 
a valuable one is produced, but they indicate 
a constant effort for im¬ 
provement. Our seeds¬ 
men give us each year the 
best of the new foreign 
sorts ; we try them once, 
and go back to our 
“Alpha,” for early, and 
“Champion of England,” 
for late. But now the tide 
has turned, England, the 
home of fine peas, has not 
for many years sent us 
anything in the pea line 
that marks so great an im¬ 
provement as the “Amer¬ 
ican Wonder.” McLean’s 
“Little Gem” has long 
stood at the head of dwarf 
peas, and if it bore enough pods and put 
enough peas in the pod, it would leave 
nothing to be desired. The “Champion of 
England,” for quality and productiveness, 
easily stands, where it has been for several 
years, at the head of the late tall peas. It 
was a happy thought of Mr. Charles Arnold, 
of Paris, Ontario, to combine these two varie¬ 
ties. He did it, and the “ American Won¬ 
der” is the result. If some seed growers 
were to claim to have made such a cross, we 
should be slow to accept the statement—the 
pea being a most difficult plant to cross-fertil¬ 
ize ; but Mr. Arnold is a most skilled horti¬ 
culturist, and knows all the difficulties ; when 
he states that he has made this cross, know¬ 
ing the man, and what he has done with 
other plants, we accept this as the origin of 
the new pea “ American Wonder.” Messrs. 
B. K. Bliss & Sons early recognized the 
merits of this pea and purchased the entire 
stock, and after having the pea extensively 
tested, introduced it to their customers 
and the trade. The vine is about 10 inches 
high, and averages, with good culture, some 
12 pods to the plant, each pod being well 
filled with about six large, peas; and it 
is very early. We 
have tested this 
pea for two years, 
last year in a most 
unfavorable sea¬ 
son, and find it to 
be quite as pro¬ 
ductive as has been 
claimed, while in 
quality it is not to 
be surpassed. Not 
only has this pea 
been successful in 
various parts of 
our own country, 
but the reports 
from Australia and 
FlS ' ^LpleGe^f. WHITE En S land are ec l ua1 ' 
ly favorable. In¬ 
deed the trial of the “American Wonder” 
by one of the largest seed firms in England, 
led to an order for a very large quantity 
of the seed, at a price which goes far to off¬ 
set the large sums we have sent abroad for 
varieties that proved to be of no use to us. 
In thickly settled places, it has become each 
year more and more difficult to procure brush 
for sticking the tall peas. While in market- 
Wier’s Cut-Leaved Maple. —(Acer dasycar- 
pum var. Wierii laciniatum.) 
BYW. 0. BARRY, MOUNT HOPE NURSERIES, ROCHESTER,N.Y. 
To acquire a really valuable new tree is 
now-a-days of such rare occurrence that, when 
a novelty like “ Wier’s Maple ” is introduced, 
there is cause for congratulation among 
admirers of beautiful trees. As this tree 
was brought to notice in 1873, giving suffi¬ 
cient time to prove it thoroughly, we may 
now safely venture an opinion as to its worth. 
Like its parent, the native Silver Maple, it has 
a vigorous constitution, and makes a remark¬ 
ably rapid and luxuriant growth; the lead¬ 
ing shoots push directly upwards, while the 
lateral branches, being slender, fall in grace¬ 
ful curves towards the 
ground. This half drooping 
habit is an interesting fea¬ 
ture in this tree, while its 
deeply and variously cut 
leaves constitute one of its 
greatest charms, and fully 
justify us in ranking it 
among the most valuable of 
ornamental trees. This var 
riety, as well as the typical 
form, possesses a great ad¬ 
vantage as an ornamental 
tree which is not sufficiently 
appreciated, that is, its free¬ 
dom from disease and the 
attacks of insects. Not alone 
in spring, but all through the 
summer, its clean, bright, 
delicately cut foliage has a 
peculiar freshness which de¬ 
lights the eye ; though the 
leaves do not assume the 
brilliant colors for which 
some of our maples are so justly admir¬ 
ed, nevertheless the rich golden autumnal 
tints of this tree make it a desirable ob¬ 
ject in scenery. The extremely rapid and 
spreading growth of Wier’s Maple makes 
vigorous pruning absolutely necessary, and a 
judicious use of the knife gives the tree a 
pleasing outline, and tends greatly to increase? 
its beauty. I think that all who know this 
Maple will join with me in commending it, 
on account of its graceful habit, as a fit com¬ 
panion for the Cut-leaved Birch. It is especi¬ 
ally suited for planting singly in conspicuous 
places on the lawn, and introduced among 
other trees, it imparts to a group an 
effective variety 
and expression.— 
[We quite agree 
with our corre¬ 
spondent’s esti¬ 
mate of this fine 
Maple. The nor¬ 
mal form of the 
tree, Acer dasycar- 
pum , known as Sil¬ 
ver Maple, White 
Maple, and Soft 
Maple, is well 
known, especially 
in the Western 
States, as one of 
the most valuable 
of quick growing- 
trees. We show 
leaves of the or¬ 
dinary form in figure 1, in contrast with 
those of the variety brought to notice by 
our friend Wier in figure 2 .—Ed.] 
Fig. 2.—leaf of wier’s 
MAPLE. 
THE “AMERICAN WONDER” PEA. 
gardens they are grown without brush, they 
cannot be tolerated in private gardens without 
a support of some kind. It is true we have 
had dwarf varieties these many years, but 
the productive ones were not good, and the 
good ones not productive. The “American 
Wonder” is both productive and good, and 
we look upon it as a variety that will essenti¬ 
ally modify our methods of growing peas. 
If by planting closely together we can get as 
large a crop as by sticking, and by sowing in 
succession we can fill the season as complete¬ 
ly as with the tall growing kinds, this variety 
will prove one of the most valuable additions 
that has been made to our gardens in the 
present generation. The engraving shows a 
plant of just half the actual size. The seed 
is now so multiplied that it can probably 
be obtained through most of the seed-dealers. 
As with all new things, the price is some¬ 
what higher than for the older kinds. But 
a little seed planted on good soil, and care¬ 
fully attended and saved, will furnish an 
ample supply for next year. [Those who got 
their first Early Rose potatoes at $5 a pound, 
were the gainers in the end, as the seed thus 
raised was cheaper than could be purchased. ] 
