From Adam Fitch 18 November 1862
Vicarage | Thornton Steward | Bedale
Novr. 18th. 1862
Sir,
I have just met with your queries in the Gardeners’ Chronicle, respecting peas—1I venture therefore to trouble you with a letter in answer.
My late Rector Dr. Davy Master of Caius was a most intimate friend of Mr. Knights, who was in the habit of sending his new productions, if very good, to the Doctors country residence in Norfolk—2 On one occasion I recollect seeing some peas in bloom which came from Mr. Knight, the tall Marrow; and I noticed a large proportion of coloured blossom—in fact the blossom of the common field pea— I noticed this to my Rector, who told me the Peas were a cross by Knight between the common Prussian Blue and the common field pea—3 When Curate of Cottenham & Willingham having resided in the two Parishes for 20 years,4 I had a very favourite pale pea—Greens tall Marrow. It was my great crop & of course was surrounded by different kinds of peas—most being more or less in blossom at the same time— I never saw any change—or anything approximating to a cross—but at end of 20 years the seed appeared to be as true as at commencement.5 I tried the same kind here but our West Winds which are most violent, compelled me to give it up.6
As a practical gardener I would venture to suggest that the pea producer’s on a large scale, are not sufficiently careful in gathering or in threshing & thus too frequently you find a mixture. This was the case this last season with Hairs Dwrf Marrow a most desirable variety
CD annotations
Footnotes
Bibliography
Alum. Cantab.: Alumni Cantabrigienses. A biographical list of all known students, graduates and holders of office at the University of Cambridge, from the earliest times to 1900. Compiled by John Venn and J. A. Venn. 10 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1922–54.
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Cross and self fertilisation: The effects of cross and self fertilisation in the vegetable kingdom. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1876.
DNB: Dictionary of national biography. Edited by Leslie Stephen and Sidney Lee. 63 vols. and 2 supplements (6 vols.). London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1912. Dictionary of national biography 1912–90. Edited by H. W. C. Davis et al. 9 vols. London: Oxford University Press. 1927–96.
Natural selection: Charles Darwin’s Natural selection: being the second part of his big species book written from 1856 to 1858. Edited by R. C. Stauffer. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1975.
Origin: On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or the preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1859.
Variation: The variation of animals and plants under domestication. By Charles Darwin. 2 vols. London: John Murray. 1868.
Summary
In reply to CD’s letter, "Peas" in Gardeners’ Chronicle [8 Nov 1862; Collected papers 2: 70] sends information on the duration of some of A. Knight’s crossed varieties.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-3813
- From
- Adam Fitch
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Bedale
- Source of text
- DAR 77: 166–7
- Physical description
- inc †
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 3813,” accessed on 28 March 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-3813.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 10