JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
Dooeinber  12,  1896. 
I  bo  Socicty’rt  olllcitil  Cftbilonuo  of  exhibition  and  garden  Roses,  the 
'•  11  inis  on  Planting,"  and  the  supplement  to  the  catalogue  as  soon  as 
issued.  Memhors  alone  are  allowed  to  compete  at  the  Society’s 
exhibitions.  The  Committee  tender  their  best  thanks  to  all  those  kind 
friends  who  have  in  various  ways  assisted  to  help  forward  the  work  of 
the  Society,  and  especially  to  their  local  Secretaries  and  the  donors  of 
ipecial  prir.es.  Among  the  local  Secretaries  particular  mention  should 
be  made  of  ttlr.  Conway  Jones,  who  did  such  excellent  work  iu  connection 
with  the  Gloucester  show,  and  who  at  the  same  time  obtained  for  the 
Society  a  largo  number  of  now  members. 
a  little  further  discussion  the  resolution  was  put  to  the  meeting  and 
carried  unanimously. 
When  proposing  a  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Chairman  for  presiding,  the 
Rev.  A.  Foster-Melliar  made  a  few  amusing  remarks  respecting  the 
unbroken  harmony  of  the  meeting,  this  bringing  the  proceedings  to  a 
close. 
The  annual  dinner  afterwards  took  place  under  the  presidency  of  the 
last  named  gentleman. 
THE  GARDEN  PEA  AND  ITS  VARIETIES 
UKOv.irTs. 
llslsnoi'  «f  lluukors,  IH'oombor  Ist,  18!M 
Subi<i'riiitioi\a  ..  ..  ..  .. 
AllHiidiou  Foes  iimi  for  Medals  from  Atliliated  Soeietios 
l''rom  Gloueester  .. 
„  (h  ystal  Piilaeo 
ib'rln  ..  ..  ..  .. 
Speeial  Prizes 
Sale  of  ('atalogues 
\dverlisements 
Speeial  Prize  from  .Vlex.  Hill  Gray.  Ksi\.,  I'o 
II  vbridi.satiou 
Halanoe  at  Hankers,  Hoecmbor  1st,  1805, 
Ex^’KNmTru^ 
Sh 
Printing.  Stationorv,  and  .Advertising.. 
I'oslage,  ‘I'elegrams,  and  Sundry  Kxiu'nses 
Seorelarv’s  Travelling  Expenses  to  Arrange  S 
Expenses  Gloueester  Show 
.,  Grystal  Palaee  Show  .. 
,,  Derby  Show 
Medals  . 
,,  for  Atliliated  Soeieties  .. 
Prizes  Gloueester  Show  ,, 
,.  Crystal  Palaee  Show 
.,  Derby  Show 
Assistant  Seeretary  and  .Aeeountant 
Halanre  at  Hankei-s 
Examined  and  found  eorreet  t,Signeil) 
.1,  D.  P.VWl.K 
Best  Essay  on  Rose 
,  £15  14s,  3d. 
ows 
£ 
s. 
(1. 
72 
11 
9 
367 
1 
0 
82 
5 
0 
50 
0 
0 
105 
0 
0 
80 
0 
0 
11 
3 
0 
2 
4 
4 
12 
10 
6 
5 
5 
0 
,788 
0 
7 
£ 
S. 
d. 
66 
4 
9 
41 
18 
9 
3 
3 
0 
5 
18 
0 
9 
13 
1 
6 
ll 
0 
22 
12 
9 
65 
9 
6 
09 
10 
0 
260 
10 
0 
140 
15 
0 
20 
0 
0 
45 
14 
3 
788 
0 
7 
Eu.vs.  Tv  i,i.ik  Wollaston  | 
Auditors. 
The  CuAiUMAN,  on  rising  to  thank  the  Committee  for  the 
report  and  to  move  its  .adoption,  remarked  that  although  the  financial 
statemont  was  very  satisfactory  and  the  Society  had  a  substantial 
balanco  in  its  favour,  yet  it  should  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  it 
had  this  year  spent  nearly  £30  more  than  t  he  total  of  income  ;  therefore, 
in  onier  to  furl  her  the  interests  of  the  Society,  o.ach  member  should  m.ake 
strenuous  elYorts  in  inducing  others  to  join,  as  it  was  desirable  that  no 
relaxation  should  take  place  ou  part  of  this  Society  in  the  useful 
work  in  which  it  is  engaged.  With  this  suggestion  he  proposed  that  the 
report  and  financial  statement  be  adopted,  Mr.  C.  E.  Shka  being  the 
seconder, 
Mr.  Mawlky  rem.arked  that  with  regard  to  the  expenditure  of  the 
Society  it  had  been  done  deliberately,  as  there  w’as  no  advantage  in 
keeping  a  large  balance  in  hand,  and  considering  the  Society  included 
530  raombi'rs  the  working  expenses  were  very  small.  It  was  also 
iuore.‘\sing,  as  in  18'.l.'>  they  had  made  sixty-six  new'  members,  the  largest 
numlH'r  in  any  year  since  its  institution.  Ho  found  that  the  members 
changed  considerably  from  year  to  year,  and  he  thought  the  Society  would 
do  well  to  eater  more  for  amateurs,  who  perhaps  only  grow  a  few  Roses 
and  do  not  belong  to  the  showing  community,  thus  giving  less  in  prize 
money  and  keeping  the  interest  of  non-exhibiting  members  in  view. 
After  a  few  other  remarks  the  resolution  was  put  to  the  meeting  and 
earriiHi  without  a  protest. 
Mr.  G.  W.  Cook  in  thanking  the  ofliceri  said  that  it  was  due 
to  the  unremitting  attention  and  practical  assistance  rendered  by 
Treasurer,  Secretaries,  and  Committee  that  the  Society  was  in  such  a 
satisfactory  condition.  Tins  resolution  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Conway 
loncs,  and  forthwith  put  to  the  meeting.  At  this  point  the  Ch.airman 
announced  that  the  scrutiiu’ers  had  completed  an  inspection  of  the 
ballot,  and  reportvxl  that  the  whole  of  the  ofticers  had  been  again 
rc-elecled,  news  that  was  received  with  much  satisfaction. 
With  regard  to  the  intentions  for  18*.)7,  the  Rev.  II.  H.  D’Ombrain 
stated  that  it  had  been  prop^wd  that  the  Northern  section  show  for  the 
year  named  should  be  held  at  Norwich,  and  that  of  the  Southern  section 
at  Portsmouth,  and  .also  the  usual  metropolitan  show  at  the  Crystal 
Palace.  The  Rev.  11.  11.  D'Ombrain  stated  that  Norwich  is  well  known 
as  a  centre  of  Rose  growing,  and  he  thought  a  good  show  would  result, 
esj  ecially  as  that  town  was  ^xrssessed  of  a  strong  society  of  its  own. 
Portsmouth,  he  said,  had  been  under  consultation  .as  there  was  no 
society  there,  and  to  make,  the  venture  a  success  it  was  necessary  that  a 
powerful  working  committee  be  formeil  for  carrying  out  the  arrange¬ 
ments  of  the  show.  In  sup^rort  of  these  propotals  the  Rev.  A.  Foster- 
Melliar  said  that  Norwich  was  the  only  place  in  East  Anglia  where  it 
would  Vh’  p^xssiblo  to  hold  the  show,  and  the  fact  of  there  being  a 
powerful  society  there  would  be  an  incentive  tow.anis  its  success.  After 
[Road  before  a  mooting  of  tho  Reading  Gardeners’  Association  by  Mr.  A.  J.  Deal.] 
The  lecturer  in  his  opening  remarks  congratulated  the  Society  on 
including  in  Its  programme  a  paper  on  such  a  commonplace  subject  as 
"  The  Garden  Pea  and  Its  Varieties.”  Such  subjects  as  ”  The  Latest 
Find  in  Dendrobes,”  “  Researches  in  Chinese  Lore  for  the  Ancient 
History  of  the  Primula,”  or  ”  The  Flora  of  the  Arctic  Regions,”  he  said 
charmed  most  societies,  and  resulted  In  the  exclusion  of  topics  relating 
to  matters  of  more  general  interest  and  importance.  He  took  it  that, 
next  to  Potatoes,  Peas  were  the  leading  vegetable  of  the  present  day, 
and  the  United  Kingdom  stands  out  pre-eminently  as  the  Pea- raising, 
Pea-growing,  and  Pea-eating  country.  Our  neighbours  across  the 
Channel  doubtless  excel  in  the  manner  of  serving  their  Peas  when 
cooked,  but  they  make  little,  if  any,  use  of  the  large-seeded,  fine- 
flavoured  kinds.  Our  American  cousins— generally  to  the  fore — are  far 
behind  in  the  matter  of  Peas. 
As  to  what  Peas  were  like  when  introduced  into  this  country,  it  is 
most  probable  that  there  were  several  dissimilar  types.  Not  until  the 
reign  of  Henry  VIII.  in  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century  do  we 
learn  of  their  cultivation  in  the  gardens  of  this  country,  although  it  is 
recorded  that  '250  years  previous  to  this  time,  when  the  English  forces 
were  besieging  a  castle  in  Lothian,  their  supply  of  provisions  were 
exhausted,  and  their  only  resource  was  in  the  Peas  and  Beans  of  the 
surrounding  fields.  There  is  no  doubt  that  in  the  seventeenth  century 
the  common  white  and  grey  round  Peas  were  cultivated  in  all  directions, 
careful  growers  selecting  and  improving  their  stocks  as  opportunity 
offered.  Not  until  the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  however, 
does  it  appear  to  have  occurred  to  anyone  that  the  Pea  could  be  improved 
by  cross-fertilisation. 
In  the  year  1787  it  is  said  that  Thomas  Andrew  Knight,  the  President 
of  the  Horticultural  Society,  operated  on  the  blossoms  of  a  degenerate 
Pea  with  the  pollen  from  a  grey  Pea,  and  he  was  so  pleased  with  the 
results  that  a  few  years  later  he  introduced  to  the  public  Knight’s  Tall 
Green  Marrow  and  Knight’s  Dwarf  Green  Marrow.  A  trade  catalogue 
published  in  the  year  1817  contains  the  names  of  twenty-three  varieties, 
and  at  an  interval  of  seventy-eight  years,  bringing  us  to  the  present 
year,  one  of  the  leading  wholesale  house’s  list  give  123  sorts,  whilst  the 
numerous  catalogues  issued  during  the  present  year  reveal  the  astonish¬ 
ing  fact  that  there  are  now  no  less  than  647  varieties,  which,  if  not  all 
distinct,  have  at  least  distinctive  names. 
Next  to  the  first-recorded  instance  of  cross-breeding  already  referred 
to,  one  of  the  earliest  to  take  the  matter  in  hand  was  Dr.  McLean  of 
Colchester,  whose  seedlings  were  much  prized.  Coming  to  more  recent 
times,  the  late  Mr.  Laxton  of  Bedford  made  rapid  strides  in  this  direc¬ 
tion,  and  his  seedlings  have  a  leading  place  at  the  present  day.  The 
“  Grand  Old  JIan  ”  in  connection  with  raising  of  new  Peas,  however,  is 
Mr.  Culverwell.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  this  good  old  Yorkshire 
gardener  is  responsible  for  the  origin  of  many  of  the  best  Peas  of  the 
present  time.  The  number  of  diverse  seedlings  obtained  from  a  single 
cross  is  an  interesting  matter.  During  the  past  season  no  fewer  than 
twenty-six  types  were  selected  from  the  seedlings  produced  by  a  cross 
made  in  1892  between  Perfect  Gem  and  Jubilee.  This,  then,  explains 
in  some  measure  how  the  numbers  have  increased  during  the  past  fifty 
years. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that  as  early  as  the  year  1846  the  Horti¬ 
cultural  Society  was  obliged  to  undertake  a  series  of  trials  with  the 
intention,  as  the  report  goes,  “  to  reduce  the  discordant  nomenclature 
of  the  seed  shops  to  something  like  order,  and  to  prevent  the  g.ardener 
buying  the  same  kind  under  different  names.”  This  resulted  in  the 
reiiuction  of  100  different  names  to  about  twenty.  Further  trials  were 
made  in  1860  and  1872  to  the  same  end.  Notwithstanding  the  attempts 
to  restrict  the  number  of  names  there  are  still  about  650  at  the  present 
time. 
Peas  are  divided,  so  far  as  the  dry  seed  is  eoncerned,  into  two  general 
classes — round  and  wrinkled.  These  classes  have  many  variations  as 
regards  size,  and  in  the  use  of  wrinkled  kinds  the  irregular  surface  is 
considerably  varied  according  to  sort,  in  some  instances  being  so 
peculiar  as  to  be  almost  sufficient  to  distingush  one  sort  from  another. 
The  original  Pea  from  which  our  cultivated  kinds  have  sprung  pro¬ 
duced  round  seed,  but  the  selection  and  improvement  of  the  pod  and 
quality  and  flavour  of  the  peas  resulted  in  the  evolution  of  the  wrinkled 
section,  which  now  includes  a  far  greater  number  of  kinds  than 
does  tho  round-seeded  class.  Ne  Plus  Ultra  is  generally  looked  upon 
.as  the  best  flavoured  Pea.  It  certainly  occupies  one  of  the  fore¬ 
most  places,  having  deep  green  pods  and  peas,  but  one  or  two  of  the 
darker  green  podded  sorts,  such  as  Duke  of  Albany,  Autocrat,  and 
Sutton’s  Late  Queen  surpass  it  in  this  respect. 
The  lecturer  then  dealt  with  the  peculiarities  and  variations  of  shape 
of  pods  of  the  various  types  of  Peas,  p.assing  on  to  mention  that  the  Pea 
most  grown  for  the  London  market  is  doubtless  Telegraph,  one  of  the 
first  of  Culverwell’s  seedlings.  Hundreds  of  acres  are  grown  in  Essex 
