Bronze Age Men Ate Green Peas!

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 220, 17 September 1938, Page 14 (Supplement)

Bronze Age Men Ate Green Peas!

ALL authorities are agreed that the origin of the garden pea is lost in antiquity. It is certain that, unlike some of the vegetables, notably the cabbage, carrot and parsnip, no wild form that can be regarded as the progenitor of the garden pea is in existence to-day; it is doubtful whether one ever existed.

It is reasonable to suppose that the garden pea (P. sativum hortensc) originated in some way from the -common field pea (P. sativum arvense), said to be a native of Southern Italy. Peas are mentioned by the Greek writer, Theophrastus (B.C. 373-288), author of the oldest extant botanical treatises, but he doe* not describe the forms clearly. Ptaa are freely mentioned by the Roman writers, Plinius (seeundns) and

i Columella of the first century. De Candolle, in "The Origin of Cultivated Plants," concludes that the pea was known to the Aryans and was probably brought l»y them into Greece a aid, subsequently, Italy, but thewj pea« may have been varieties of the field pea. i'eas have even been found in lakedwellings of the Bronze Age in Switzerland. Little 1s heard of peas in Kngland until the Kith century, which marked the appearance of Gerard's "Herbal" (1597), in which he says: "There be divers sorts of persons, differing notably in many respects, some of the garden and others of the fielde and yet both counted tame." That peas were grown and relied upon as one of the chief foods previous to the 10th century is clear from investigations by J. Thorold Rogers, who stated in his book, "The History of Agriculture and Prices in England," that peas appear in many entries concerning "pottage" and

"porridge" in the accounts of expenses of collegiate and monastic hou«cs between the years 1403 and 1538. Although the subject had been referred to by a few investigators in Europe, the appearaticc of the seeds of peas as a basis of classification for the various forms does not appear to have engaged any attention until 1787, when Thomas Edward Knight embarked on what must be regarded as the first carefully arranged series of hybridising experiment®. It is at this period that the first mention of wrinkled, seeded, peas occurs. Describing his experiments in the hybridising of different forms of peas, he said they included "a white pea which possesses the remarkable property of shrivelling when excessively ripe." As a result, Knight obtained two varieties which became known as Knight's Green Wrinkled Marrow and Knight's Bream Marrow. In 1817, Knight wrote: 'The pea which I have always planted for autumnal crops is a large kind of which the seeds are much shrivelled and which grows very tall." This variety was known as Knight's Tall Wrinkled Pea, afterwards as British Queen. This was followed up by Dr. Mac Lean who, in 1850, raised several varieties, of which Veitch's Perfection and Little Gem are notable. Then came Thomas Laxton, who began a« a plant breeder about 1860 and dur-

ing the next 20 years raised Gradns Alderman, William llur.-t and Thomas Laxton. This work was continued by his eons after the death of Thomas Laxton in 1880, and their introductions include Laxtoniaii, Laxton's Progress, Laxton's Superb, Admiral Beauty, Bedford Champion, Aviator and Giant Stride. Gradus was the first large podded, wrinkled seeded uiarrow pea for early cultivation. Laxton raised Supreme by crossing the old sugar pea (a variety with large eucrculent pods but containing few seeds) with No Plus Ultra. Supreme is the forerunner of the types bearing large and in some cases decidedly puffy pods. Thus the race of culinary peas with large, attractive, well-filled pods, came into existence. In 1891 there arrived a new race of garden peas that was as early as the small podded, round seeded varieties, but which had wrinkled seeds and much larger pods. First of this race was Sultan Al, followed by May Queen, Excelsior, Harbinger, etc. Some of these are still grown and many have been used as seeds or pollen parents for new varieties. Thus, through the years, by dint of untiring labours, have been brought to our gardens the present-day varieties bearing large pods with 10 or more peas and giving large crops over a lon2 period.