180 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[December, 
improvements I have been speaking of, in the 
spring of 1879 I selected a few good kinds, 
including Ne Plus Ultra, British Queen, 
Veitch’s Perfection, Advancer, James’s Prolific, 
Champion of England, Multum in Parvo, 
William I., and Little Gem. These as they 
came into bloom were carefully attended to, 
and the flowers to be crossed, while still very 
small—some of them almost before they were 
showing the colour of the flowers—were pre¬ 
pared for fertilising: that is, the stamens 
were carefully removed, and in two or perhaps 
three days afterwards, when the blooms wore 
fully developed, the pollen from the kind de¬ 
sired to cross with was applied. To prevent 
bees or flies interfering with the work, it is a 
good plan, from the time the flower is prepared 
till the pod begins to swell, to enclose each in a 
small gauze bag, carefully marking each cross. 
This I do with different coloured worsteds, 
which I find much more convenient than any 
other mode I have seen adopted. The gauze 
bags will also protect the now interesting 
young pods from the attacks of birds, sparrows 
especially, which in some seasons are very 
destructive to Peas. 
Although I did not raise anything very 
extraordinary from those crosses, I obtained 
several that were very valuable in furthering 
my object; notably some fine dwarf forms 
with the blood of Ne Plus Ultra, British 
Queen, &c. The next year I added Telegraph 
and Duchess of Edinburgh. The former 
gave me a large pod, the latter a large pea, 
for although the pod of the Duchess is not 
large, it is always well filled. I felt now well 
armed for the work. 
The crosses of 1880 produced some won¬ 
derfully fine varieties, and exactly in accord¬ 
ance with my expectation, viz., large finely 
formed well-filled pods, varying in season and 
flavour according to the different crosses. In 
1881, with a few new kinds which had been put 
into commerce added, I made crosses with my 
best productions, and the result was a steady 
progress in the various properties of the Pea. 
A few varieties of the produce of 1880 were 
sent to Chiswick for trial, and to one of them 
a lst-class Certificate of merit was awarded. 
Of the produce of 1881, 1882, and 1883 I 
possess some interesting varieties, which I 
hope the public will at no distant time have 
the benefit of. 
Great care and much patience is wanted 
in the raising of Peas in consequence of their 
sportive disposition—vacillating between the 
characters of the parents year after year, even 
when selected with the greatest care, so that 
when confident of having entirely succeeded in 
fixing the character of a very favourite variety, 
it not infrequently happens that the earnest 
and anxious hybridist is startled to find three 
or four perfectly distinct forms produced—one 
tall, another short, one white, another green— 
this even when all have been rejected but the 
produce of a single plant. In several instances 
I have had to go over the same ground again 
and again, but there is this of encouragement 
in it, that frequently in this way two or three 
or even more fine and entirely distinct kinds 
are obtained. 
Pea Culture. 
Before closing these notes, I should like to 
say a few words on cultivation. No plant 
likes good living better than the Pea. What 
I prefer is well - manured ground, deeply 
trenched in the autumn, and simply broken on 
the surface with the hoe or fork before plant¬ 
ing. They do better on firm than on newly 
dug ground. In the first or second week of 
January I sow in pots the entire stock for the 
season’s supply. To those who make a sow¬ 
ing fortnightly from January till June this 
will be a surprise, but such has been my prac¬ 
tice for five years. When sown the pots are 
placed in a cold frame, and a piece of glass is 
placed over each pot, which answers the 
double purpose of keeping them moist and 
protecting them from mice. When the young 
plants appear the glass is removed, and abun¬ 
dance of air is given continually, simply pro¬ 
tecting from frost. In the beginning of April, 
weather permitting, they are planted out in 
rows 12 to 18 inches apart, according to 
the variety, the taller and stronger growing 
kinds requiring more space than the weaker 
kinds, 4 feet from row to row (6 feet would be 
better), a tall and a dwarf row alternately ; they 
are staked at once, and mulched with recent 
stable litter. I always keep a few plants of 
the different kinds in stock, in case of losses 
from slugs or other causes. Treated in this 
way the plants throw out numerous lateral 
shoots, which as they ascend the stakes con¬ 
tinue to multiply till they become perfect 
bushes, forming rows more dense than if sown 
