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No. 33.] eblar peas & 
First and Best (Fer. 1883), Sibley’s First and Best (Sib. 1883), 
Thorburn’s First and Best (Thor. 1882), Henderson’s First of All 
(Hen. 1883), and Hancock (Greg. 1883), as grown in the station gar- 
den, are, in reality, one and the same variety The past season, 
equally carefully prepared notes lead us to conclude that the peas sent 
out in the spring of 1884, under the names Cleveland’s Rural New 
Yorker, from the Rural New Yorker, Dexter (Greg.), Landreth’s 
Extra Karly (Lan.), and Thorburn’s Extra Early Market (Thor.), as 
grown by us, are also synonyms of the Philadelphia Extra Early. 
It is certain that the samples tested under the above names showed 
no more variations than duplicate plantings of the same variety 
often exhibit, and hence, with our present knowledge, we are com- 
pelled to pronounce them synonyms. The pea tested under the 
name Reedland (Lan.), seems to be an enfeebled form of the above, 
having a slightly dwarfer habit, and giving a smaller yield, without 
being earlier and possessing no other distinctive characters. 
The peas tested under the names Express (Greg.), “No. 72” 
(Bliss), as grown by us, are also synonyms, but they are not the same 
as Philadelphia Extra iarly. 
We have also found the peas under the names Dwarf White 
Marrowfat (Thor., 1882), Brown’s New Dwarf Early Marrowfat 
(Greg., 1883), and Royal Dwarf Marrowfat (Greg., 1883), to be 
synonyms. | | 
’ Hair’s Dwarf Green Marrow (Thor., 1882), seems to be a synonym 
of Knight’s Tall Green Marrow (Vil.) 
The tendency among seedsmen to rename peculiarly desirable va- 
rieties is well illustrated in the case noted, where eleven different 
names seem to have been given to one variety of the pea. We 
are aware that the word “ variety,’ as applied to vegetables, 
is not specifically defined, and, therefore, our opinions upon this 
subject may be open to severe criticism. It is evident, how- 
ever, that the differences between two varieties should be greater 
than between normal individuals of the same variety; and it is 
because the samples that we eall synonyms have not shown 
these differences that we are led to pronounce them as such. The 
differences that occur between plants of the same variety, as 
grown from pure seed, are often quite marked. Asan example, 
we note that Station seed of the Dan. O’Rourke pea, planted 
April 28, produced pods of edible size in fifty-two days, while seed 
of the same variety from Vilmorin, Andrieux & Oo., of Paris, in 
an adjacent row required fifty-nine days to form a pod of edible size. 
The plants from these two samples of seed, however, seemed true 
to type. | ‘ 
Re ve noted in our last report, the order of maturity of distinct 
varieties is not to be depended upon in different plantings, even 
when these are made from the same packages of seed and upon as 
nearly as can be secured, the same soil. Much less, then, should the 
seedsman expect that mere selections from a given variety made 
through one or two seasons, will preserve distinctive characters. 
