Sweet Peas. 



221 



Cardinal, red-crimson and red-scarlet. 



Grand Blue, ultramarine-purple and purple- crimson. 



Primrose, cream-vellow. 



With all deference to a perfect harmony of 



color, I may add that there is really very little discord to be found 

 in an indiscriminate mixture of all varieties." 



A more detailed account of the merits of the various sweet peas 

 which we have grown will be found in the descriptive list in Part 

 II. But, after all, it does not matter so much, as I have said, what 

 varieties one plants as it does that he plants, and plants generously. 

 One can scarcely obtain such a profusion of color and fragrance 

 throughout the season from any other flower. Mr. W. JST. Craig 

 contributes to " Garden and Forest," the following record of the 

 productiveness of sweet peas: "We have never tested individual 

 plants, but last year we kept a record of the spikes cut from a row 

 sixty feet long, partly composed of the Eckford varieties and partly 

 of good mixed sorts. The first flowers were cut on June 11th, and 

 the last on October the 2()th. The number gathered for each 

 month was as follows : June, 2,000 ; July, 17,600 ; August, 18,000 ; 

 September, 6,400; October, 3,500; total, 47,500. Besides this, 

 large numbers went to seed, and probably the row would have 

 yielded 60,000 spikes if it had been carefully picked over." 



The varieties of sweet peas with which Mr. Eckford began his 

 work, as given by Mr. Hutcliins, are seven, as follows : Light 

 Blue and Purple, Painted Lady, Common White, Scarlet, Scarlet 

 Striped, Dark Striped, Black. Most or all of 

 these Mr. Hutchins would now discard; and 

 he also adds (1894) the following to the list of 

 those which are superseded by better varieties : 

 Adonis, Crown Prince of Prussia, Yesuvius, 

 The Queen, Carmen Sylva, Queen of England, 

 Empress of India, Isa Eckford, Bronze Prince, 

 Black, Purple Brown Striped, Scarlet Invinci- 

 ble. Yet several of these vaneties are still fav- 

 orites with us; and for myself, I should place 

 Empress of India in a list of my second or third 

 half-dozen. This simply illustrates the old 

 aphorism that there is no accounting for tastes. 

 So long as one hkes the varieties which he 



■7 i ._ ^x 1 i. j-l l^^„,. 76.— The Sweet Pea 



grows it does not matter what names tney bear. flower. 



