764 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
July 28, 1900. 
in a system of Sweet Pea classification ; and the 
future may allot to it the leading position in view of 
the few variations that they are likely to be in form. 
By the exercise of a very little ingenuity we can get 
nearly all the leading varieties into one of several 
well defined groups. We have : — 
" (i) Selfs. — This is a large, important, and 
beautiful class, and perhaps no better example of a 
pure self could be found than Salopian. Many of 
the bright red ' seifs' have a distinct tint of 
magenta in the wings, but Salopian has not. In 
this section natural subdivisions occur to the mind. 
Thus we have Gountess of Radnor as the type of 
lavender seifs, Navy Blue of blue seifs, Dorothy 
Tennant of mauve seifs, and so on. 
<• (2) Flakes.— A fairly large class, and one likely 
to increase in popularity. We have crimson flakes 
such as America, mauve flakes like Gaiety, rose 
flakes like Aurora, blue flakes like Grey Friar, and 
maroon flakes like Senator. 
>■ (3) Bicolors.— In one sense flakes are bi¬ 
colors, but it would be logical to adopt a system of 
classifying as bicolors those varieties which have 
one well defined colour in the standard and another 
in the wings. Sub-sections come naturally if we 
take as the distinguishing colour that of the 
standard. For instance, in Little Dorrit and 
Empress of India (rose standards with white wings) 
we have Rose bicolors ; in Orange Prince, Countess 
of Powis, &c. (salmon standards and pink wings), 
we have salmon bicolors. And so forth. 
“ (4) Fancies. —There are, and must be, no in. 
considerable number of varieties which refuse to be 
disposed of so easily as the rest. Take, for example, 
the lovely Lottie Hutchins, which is lightly splashed 
with pink on an ivory ground. It is not a true self, 
nor is it a true flake. Again, there is the brilliant 
Mikado, which is mottled almost like an herbaceous 
Calceolaria These varieties might be classified as 
fancies, with the sub-divisions White Fafi&y, Rose 
Fancy, &c., taking the ground colour as the dis¬ 
tinguishing feature. 
" (5) Picotee Edges. — A very small class at 
present, but one that may increase.” 
Mr Wright, in his paper, enumerates and de¬ 
scribes 165 varieties. He then tables lists of these 
Peas classified according to form. The following 
are types which serve to show his arrangement:— 
Erect-flowered varieties : Emily Henderson, Painted 
Lady, Boreatton, and Countess of Powis. Hooded 
varieties: Colonist, Imperial Blue, Sensation, and 
Oriental. Partially hooded varieties : Navy Blue, 
Sadie Burpee, and Salopian. Revolute varieties : 
Invincible Scarlet, P.each Blossom, and Daybreak. 
He also furnishes lists of varieties classified accord¬ 
ing to colour. This colour classification is almost 
identical with that adopted for Carnations — seifs, 
flakes, bicolors, white-ground fancies, Rose fancies, 
and Picotee-edged as detailed above. 
The classification committee hope to reduce the 
number of varieties to fifty. 
Some Points on the Culture and Decorative 
Uses of the Sweet Pea. 
This paper, by Mr. H. Dunkin, was held over till 
Saturday afternoon, owing to lack of time on Friday. 
On the Saturday Mr. Dunkin gave a verbal resume 
of his suggestions. He advocated earlier sowing- 
autumn sowing, indeed, because when the ground is 
at all suitable and sheltered, far hardier, sturdier, 
and better plants develop. The use of phosphatic 
and nitrogenous manures (kainit and nitrate of soda) 
during the early autumn growth was also advised. 
Even although we hear of bacteria which aid 
leguminous plants to obtain free nitrogen from the 
air, it has nevertheless been found of inestimable 
worth to apply half an ounce of nitrate and phos¬ 
phate per gallon of water, to the plants on occasion. 
Deep working and enriching of the soil was advised. 
Unduly thick sowing was condemned, timely staking, 
watering, and mulching were also pointed out as 
necessary if perfect Peas were desired. 
Speaking of decorations, one of Mr. Dunkin’s 
most commendable suggestions was to adopt a mass¬ 
ing system oftener than is done. To be seen to their 
fullest effect Sweet Peas should be set up in ample 
banks, mounds, or groups of one distinct colour. 
Then in table decorations, Mr. Dunkin divided these 
into upper and lower decorations. Too often decora¬ 
tors attend only to the one phase. Having tall, 
elegant vases beautifully filled with Peas and their 
own foliage or Fern fronds, the stems of the vases 
ought also to be draped, and bouquets should be 
knotted about on the table itself. The most effective 
arrangements in table decorations are got by using 
bunches of one variety by itself. 
Herr Fritz Benary, of Erfurt, in speaking after 
Mr. Dunkin had finished, suggested sowing the 
Sweet Pea in deep square pans of convenient size, 
and training the growths to a somewhat bee-hive 
shaped structure. When properly and well done 
such an arrangement is very decorative. 
The Evolution of the Sweet Pea. 
The second paper delivered before the conference on 
the Saturday was that by Messrs. J. S. Eckford and 
C. H. Curtis, on ” The Evolution of the Sweet Pea.” 
The subject is elaborate and was exhaustively 
treated It will form one of the most valuable and 
interesting of the papers contributed. It, with the 
others, may be published in booklet form as a sequel 
to the celebration. The evolution of the Sweet Pea 
from the first mention of it in Cupani’s " Hortus 
Catholicus,” onward right down to last year’s intro¬ 
ductions was fully surveyed. The earlier stages 
of its evolution are described ia 11 The History of the 
Sweet Pea,” published last week and this week in 
The Gardening World. A coloured plate of 
Lathyrus odoratus, which appeared in Curtis' 
Botanical Magazine in 1788 was shown at the meet¬ 
ing. The improvement both in size and form, 
though not so much in colour, between the Sweet 
Peas of that date and the varieties of to-day was 
readily apparent. In the specimen of 1788 the small 
standard was shown to be deeply notched, the wings 
turned inwards, and entirely exposed the lower part 
of the very conspicuous keel. When compared with 
a good present-day type, Sweet Pea specialists and 
fanciers have reason to be satisfied with the advance 
so far accomplished. 
Major Trevor Clarke’s work in first obtaining a 
blue-edged variety from the annual white Sweet Pea 
crossed with the perennial Lord Anson's blue was 
remarked upon, and some discussion on the proof of 
a true cross between an annual and a perennial Pea 
ever having been made, was raised after the reading 
of the paper Scarlet Invincible was sent out by 
Messrs. Carter in 1865, and in 1878 they also intro¬ 
duced Violet Queen. In 1892 the bronze shade was 
secured by Mr. Eckford in his Bronze Prince. 
One of the earliest varieties secured by cross fer¬ 
tilisation is stated to be Messrs. Laxlon’s Invincible 
Carmine. Eckford’s Etna, Mdme. Carnot, Rising 
Sun, &c., followed. As soon as the Cupid strain of 
Sweet Peas originated the Messrs. Laxton took and 
crossed these with the ordinary forms. For a year 
or two no results were apparent in the seedlings, but 
in Jhe third season the break occurred, and that 
secured a strain suitable for massing in beds The 
Cupid Peas do not seed so freely as the ordinary 
Sweet Peas, but the tremendous profusion of flowers 
more than compensates for the other detraction. 
Invincible Carmine (annual) and Lathyrus grandi- 
florus (perennial) have been tried in hybridisation 
without successful results. 
Up until about 1840 there were only a few dis¬ 
tinct Sweet Peas—red, white, black, Painted Lady, 
Butterfly, &c. For twelve years, that is till 1852, 
scarcely anything was done, and new sorts came 
slowly till 1878. 
Since the introduction of Violet Queen in that 
year rapid advance has been made. This was 
practically the forerunner of the large formed sorts 
now grown, and from that time Mr. Eckford has 
been busy bringing out an annual set of new and 
better varieties. The crosses of most of these are 
contained in this paper on Sweet Pea evolution, and 
all those interested in this engrossing subject may 
be referred to the published proceedings of the con¬ 
ference when they appear at a later date. 
The Sweet Pea in America. 
Rev. W. T. Hutchins, Springfield, Mass., U.S.A., 
tackled the above subject. His paper was full of 
interest, being lightened with flashes of wit and 
humour, and a charm of composition which made 
the essay a delight to listen to. " The Sweet Pea 
has a keel that was meant to seek all shores; it has 
wings that were meant to fly across all continents; 
it has a standard which is friendly to all nations and 
it has a fragrance like the universal gospel.” 
Speaking of Mr. Henry Eckford’s splendid service, 
Mr. Hutchins observed that a few years ago we 
Britishers did not seem to have discovered Eckford, 
but to-day he was glad this floral prophet was not 
without honour in his own country, and Mr. Hutchins 
would call him a dear old Scotch-Welsh Englishman. 
In the floral calendar of America no name stands 
higher than his. We who have been born and 
reared in the sweet English love of the garden, will 
rejoice that America is now more and more showing 
her ethical and spiritual evolution in the abundant 
uses to which she is putting flowers. Every year an 
increasing number of men and women are busy about 
their lawns and beds and borders, and putting 
sweeter meaning into the word 11 home." Within 
the last decade the school yards have begun to add 
on this branch of education. And now the railroad 
stations have recently begun a lively competition in 
substituting little slices of paradise for the unsightly 
remnants of chaos that formerly prevailed 
I feel sure, said the lecturer, that America has 
overtaken Europe in the magnificent and elaborate 
layout, of the floral part, at least, of our public parks 
and gardens. We preach floriculture as a hobby to 
busy men, who are in danger of suicidal application 
to business. 
Twelve years ago Mr. Hutchins began to get 
together a collection of varieties. In those days 
Scarlet Invincible, Adonis, Butterfly, Crown 
Princess of Prussia, and Princess Beatrice were 
treasures indeed, The first vision of Mr. Eckford’s 
work which Mr. Hutchins saw was in Boreatton, 
Splendour, Orange Prince and Countess of Radnor. 
The Eckford sets of 1892 and 1893 set the United 
States ablaze on Sweet Peas. California was just in 
time to prove that Sweet Pea seeds could be grown 
in America to meet the enormous demand. 
The seed houses jumped from a few pounds to 
stocks of tons. A small florist would sell a hundred 
pounds; an ordinary seedsman two or three tons, 
and one j ibber has had twenty five tons in stock in 
a season. Ten years ago a Boston seedsman de¬ 
clared that Sweet Pea seed could not be grown in 
America. Within four years of the time, Mr. 
Hutchins visited the Pea fields of four growers in 
California who had altogether not less than 350 acres. 
Sixty varieties were represented at that time, and 
were ranged carefully to name and type. 
Sweet Peas are grown in every state of the Union, 
from the semi-tropical belt of the Gulf states to the 
Canadian latitude. The American seed trade handles 
somewhere from 125 to 150 tons of Sweet Peas 
annually. The Sweet Peas of the present time in 
America do not have such fine fibrous roots as they 
possessed five or more years ago. The result is felt 
in a poorer display of bloom. This is one thing 
they must endeavour to rectify. 
In July and August the Sweet Pea is the leading 
market flower in America. For several years Sweet 
Pea shows have been an annual event. At Spring- 
field, Mass., where Mr. Hutchins lives, they are 
still competing for an Eckford Cup. The cup was 
taken last year by a gentleman who sent his flowers 
300 miles ftom Wes'ern New York. He had sent 
magnificent bunches of the complete set of Eckford’s 
latest introductions. As near as could be reckoned, 
it cost him $10 per bunch to grow and transport and 
table them at the show. But the whole town where 
he lived celebrated the event of his winning the cup, 
for it b.as had a Sweet Pea craze for three jears! 
In America the scorching summer sun sometimes 
almost spoils a whole season's work in one day. 
It burns out and ruins all except the strongest 
colours. They have to translate our descriptions 
into much narrower vocabularies of colours and 
markings. 
There are three main points in the production of 
good seed. First, conditions that will produce a 
strong, well-nourished plant, and bring it speedily to 
full maturity ; second, conditions that will, at the 
best stage of the plants’ strong growth, throw out 
promptly and ripen uniformly, just as much of a 
seed product as the plant can, at one normal effort, 
carry out ; third, conditions ensuring good sunshine 
for uniformly ripening and harvesting the seed. The 
seed ranches of California are located where the 
most wonderful virgin soil is found in abundance. It 
is of inexhaustible depth. 
The Californian year is pretty well divided be¬ 
tween six months that are wet and six months that 
are rainless. As far as possible they sow to catch 
the winter rains, and the winter is mild enough to 
allow root and stem growth to go on all winter. 
The Peas begin to bloom about April and May, and 
this is the best time to visit these immense ranches, 
Thirty acres of one variety in bloom at one time is 
a sight to be remembered. No storms ever beat their 
crops down, and just at the right stage they pull up 
those vines loaded with pods and lay them upon 
great sheets to dry. 
