No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 281 



THE CULTIVATION OF SWEET PEAS. 



By WM. ROBERTSON, Gardener to John W. Pepper, Jenklntown, Pa. 



In accordance with tbe recent resolution adopted by this society, 

 that winners of prizes should give an account of their methods of 

 growing the exhibits, I have prepared a short paper on Sweet Peas. 



It has been my practice to prepare the ground thoroughly in the 

 fall, and to sow the seed early in the spring, as follows: In Novem- 

 ber, dig a trench 10 inches wide and one foot deep. Then put four 

 inches of well decayed horse manure in bottom of trench, tramp it 

 firm, and put two inches of soil on top of this manure. Then give 

 a liberal dusting of pure bone meal, and cover this with rough soil, 

 and let the trench remain in this condition until spring. 



Sowing the Seed. This depends greatly upon the weather and 

 condition of the ground, but the seed should be in, not later than 

 the middle of March. Should the soil in the trench be too wet, 

 take some dry soil from the shed, and put one inch of this in the 

 trench. Sow the seed and cover with one inch of dry soil. 



The w^hite varieties are more liable to rot and should not be sown 

 before April 1st; these varieties also require dryer soil than the 

 other colors. These two conditions must be strictly carried out in 

 order to have success with white sweet peas. 



It is a good plan to have a ridge along the side of the trench to 

 prevent surface water from running into the trench. Do not fill 

 up the trenches with soil while the vines are growing. Allow a 

 slight grade down into the trench, and by keeping the ground culti- 

 vated, the spring rains usually wash all the soil into the trench 

 which is necessary to be about the vines. As warm weather ap- 

 pears, use a mulch in the trench, and give a good watering as the 

 ground gets dry. 



This has been my method of cultivation, and its success can be 

 seen from the fact that I have been awarded first prize for three 

 consecutive years, in the competition for the Henry F. Michell 

 prizes, for best general display of sweet peas exhibited before this 

 society. 



It is advisable to sow named varieties, in order to secure a full 

 collection of the grandest blooms. 



In my opinion the following varieties are the leaders in their dif- 

 ferent colors: , 



