Winter-flowering Sweet Peas 631 



Diseases 



The damping-off fungus has already been mentioned as causing the 

 loss of young plants. Sometimes plants are seen with white- or yellow- 

 streaked foliage. From experience at this station it appears that such a 

 condition may follow the use of any soil that is not sweet. An instance 

 occurred when a mold growing over the ashes of a bench entered the 

 bottom of some pots of peas, causing the soil to become stale and musty. 

 All the plants where this occurred showed streaked foliage later. The 

 disease is undoubtedly physiological in its nature and is thought by prac- 

 tical growers to occur sometimes from the use of too much or too fresh 

 manure on young plants. 



The dropping of flower buds is often a cause of complaint from growers. 

 The first flower buds frequently do not set on vigorous, thrifty plants. 

 Usually this condition soon disappears, but sometimes it is necessary 

 to keep the plants a little dry and to abstain from the use of fertilizers 

 until the plants are blooming freely. The loss of the buds will follow a 

 sudden fall in the temperature or will result from overwatering. Another 

 cause is, growing the plants in too cool an atmosphere. Plants that are 

 grown in the proper temperature, with careful attention to watering, 

 ventilation, and feeding, do not fail to give an abundance of flowers. 



Mildew sometimes attacks sweet peas during the autumn, unless the 

 temperature and ventilation receive attention. It has been found at this 

 station that mildew yields readily to applications of sulfur to the pipes, 

 and to the use of flour of sulfur dusted on the infected leaves. As soon 

 as the fires are started in the fall, some sulfur should be applied to the pipes 

 as a preventive. This should be used judiciously, however, for an interest- 

 ing case came under observation at this station during the past winter, 

 of the danger of using sulfur too strong. An application had been made, 

 and on a very cold night the pipe covered with the sulfur was turned on, 

 the result being that every flower which was well advanced or open was 

 scorched so that most of the flowers had to be thrown away. No injury 

 to the plants occurred. 



TESTS OF WINTER-FLOWERING SWEET PEAS AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY 



The origin of the various groups of winter-flowering varieties of sweet 

 peas has been traced above, and the varieties of the garden type fonnerly 

 grown under glass have been noted. 



All obtainable varieties of the winter-flowering type have been grown 

 two seasons under glass, and also out of doors during the past summer. 



From Anton C. Zvolanek, Bound Brook, N. J., were received original 

 winter-flowering sweet pea seeds of the following thirty-one varieties: 



