702 Bulletin 320 



their \dtality. For the foregoing reasons it is advisable to sow seeds of 

 this color rather thicker than, or not so deep as, the black-seeded varieties. 

 In some seasons, sweet pea seeds are slow in germinating. It is well 

 to examine such seeds in order to ascertain their condition. If the seeds 

 are found dormant but still fresh and plimip, the seed coats should be 

 cut with a sharp knife and replanted, when they will germinate well. 

 This difficiilty is not confined to the sweet pea, but some of the other 

 Latliyri behave similarly. The trouble usually follows a very hot, dry 

 season, when the seed becomes so excessively ripened as to render the seed 

 coat impervious to water. Sometimes, in order to expedite germination, 

 the seeds are soaked ; a better method for the amateur is that recommended 

 by Mr. Hutchins, the most prolific writer on sweet peas in America, who 

 places the seed packets in moist earth for seven or eight days, then takes 

 them out and examines them. The swollen seeds are planted and the 

 others cut with a knife. 



Pl(\nting 



Fall planting. — In the season under discussion, the finest and the 

 earliest flowers were secured from plantings made in the fall. The prepa- 

 ration of the soil is the same as that already described, except that the 

 soil is firmed and the trench filled level. On this a trench, or furrow, two 

 inches deep is made, and the peas are planted at least as close as one 

 seed every two inches. The row should be slightly ridged up so as to 

 prevent water from standing and, as stated in the beginning, it is essential 

 that the location be on a well-drained site. When the ground freezes, 

 a miilch of manure is placed over the rov/. In the spring when the bright 

 weather comes, the plants should be examined in order to see whether 

 they are growing or whether the soil is soggy and cold. In either case, 

 the mulch shoiild be removed from over the row, and should be left in 

 the center so that, in case any weather should come when the safety of 

 the plants is at all endangered, the old mulch may easily be applied to 

 protect them. 



The seed of the standard varieties of sweet peas is cheap, and the advan- 

 tage gained in obtaining early flowers, if the plants survive the winter, 

 is worth the effort. 



Spring planting. — As soon as the frost is out of the ground and the soil 

 in workable condition in the spring, a hea\'y application of superphos- 

 phate of lime should be made and raked in. Care should be exercised 

 not to get the soil too loose, and for this reason it is best to confine all 

 stirring of the soil to smoothing the surface. Especially is this true with 

 light soils, which, if stirred deeply in the spring, must be well firmed. 

 Heavy soils that are likely to bake may be improved by working in a 

 light dressing of old, thoroughly rotted manure. 



