EVOLUTION OF THE SWEET PEA.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLVI, Issue 22, 29 November 1911, Page 38

EVOLUTION OF THE SWEET PEA.

' Mr. Alvin C. Beal, of the Cornell University, Ithiea, New York, who had the care of the sweet pea trials conducted by the National Sweet Pea Society of America, recently read an interesting paper in Philadelphia on the evolution of the sweet pea, from which we make extracts. During the first 100 years of the history of the sweet pea only three varieties or colours were known, namely, purple with blue wings, pale red with white wings (Painted Lady), and white, the black and scarlet appeared in the last years of the eighteenth century. It is quite probable that the scarlet was far from what we conceive a scarlet sweet pea should be to-day. In Martyn’s edition of "Miller’s Gardeners’ Dictionary,” 1807, we find the white, the Old Painted Lady, the New Painted Lady, the latterwith a rose-coloured standard and pale rose wings, Old Purple, and a variety having a violet keel and wings and purple standard. Sayers describes the scarlet sweet pea as Lathyrus flore rosea, while the Painted Lady is described as ■ fleshed” colour. From this we may conclude that the New Painted Lady, a rose-coloured variety, was sometimes called scarlet. The first of the striped varieties was offered in 1837, and since that date this group has been augmented until the classification now includes striped and flaked (red and rose, purple and blue). This classification, however, does not express the real range of colour in this group, for we have crimson stripes, red and rose stripes on wuite, red and rose stripes on primrose, mauve stripes, blue stripes, and maroon-flaked The variety Blue Edged, the probable

forerunner of the pieotee forms, appeared in 1860. This was a white variety with a well-defined blue edge, a probable hybrid between L. magellanicus and a white variety of L. odoratus. The variety, at all events, was the first to exhibit a distinct blue colour among sweet peas. Later it was known as Blue ■Hvbrid under Which name it won an

award from the Royal Horticultural Society. 'Sutton ami Sons sent out Butterfly in 1878. which somewhat resembled Blue Edged. The so-called blues that followed were Invincible Blue, Madame Carnot or Imperial Blue, and Captain of the Blues, all of which had considerable red in the standard. It was not until 1899 that a good blue, in Navy Blue (Lord Nelson) appeared. I'he first of the soft pink varieties was Crown Princess of Prussia, 1868-9. Isa Eckford, Peach Blossom, and Lovely are the improved varieties of this colour. 'l’he efforts of the breeders of sweet peas have not all been directed toward the development of new shades of colour. The form of the flower has also received attention. The earliest representations of sweet pea flowers show a loose, irregular bloom, wit h the edges of the standard turned back; that is. reflexed. Often, if not always, the standard had the notch in the apex and frequently in the margin. 'l’he standard, which is the principal part of the flower, has been improved in substance and the notches have been eliminated. The old type had a narrow base, and with the improvement noted has come a filling out of the lower edges of the standard so 'that the outline approaches a circle. In their efforts to secure varieties of the best expanded or open form, many beautiful hooded varieties wen originated. While this form was condemned as inartistic by many sweet pea

specialists, it nevertheless secured a permanent place. Prima Donna, Lovely, and Countess of Radnor are of this form. When many had reached the conclusion that no further advances in either size or form were to be expected, and that the efforts of future breeders would be directed toward securing new colours and more flowers per stem, Nature demonstrated that she had other surprises in store.

In 1901 the Countess Spencer variety was exhibited, and caused quite a sensation. The National Sweet Pea Society of Great Britain awarded it the highest honours. This variety was distinct from all preceding introductions because the standard and wings were waved. The flowers were large, and borne in fours on stout stems. It was introduced in 1904.

The parentage of this variety has been given as Lovely x Triumph (1898) x Prima Donna, 1899. However, there appeared in 1905 a variety named Gladys Unwin, which was the same colour, but smaller and less waved than Countess Spencer, and which was a selection from Prima Donna without known crossing ■being effected. These varieties, however, were forerunners of the new type which revolutionised sweet pea culture in England.