August S, 1908 



HORTICULTURE 



161 



British Horticulture 



THE CULT OF THE SWEET PEA 



Further evidences of the great si rides made in the 

 development of the sweet pea were afforded at the 

 annual show of the National Society, at the Eoyal Hor- 

 ticultural Hall. Westminster, on July 24th. Favorable 

 reports had been received from various parts of the 

 country as to the condition of the blooms, and there 

 was a full entry. An alluring array of prizes, includ- 

 ing several championship trophies, stimulated a keen 

 competition. A good batch of novelties was submitted 

 for the certificates granted by the Floral Committee. 

 The decorative section was particularly interesting in 

 furnishing object lessons of the value of the sweet pea 

 for effective table adornment. It is during the last 

 thirty years that the remarkable advance has been made 

 in the sweet pea. In 183? a firm of seedsmen in Lon- 

 don were offering five varieties; these now number sev- 

 eral hundred. Scarlet Invincible, which was raised by 

 Mr. S. Brown, of Sudbury, was the first variety to be 

 seen by the Eoyal Horticultural Society, a first-class 

 certificate being granted in 1865. 



MODERN DEVELOPMENTS 



The flower which erstwhile found a modest corner in 

 the artizan's garden has within the last few years devel- 

 oped into a floral favorite, in whose honor special shows 

 are held in various parts of the kingdom, and whose 

 admirers form an international freemasonry by their 

 kindred aims. At various provincial centres clubs have 

 been started amongst the artizans for furthering the 

 culture of the fragrant sweet pea. One has only to 

 visit the trial grounds of well known seedsmen at Read- 

 ing or in Essex to realize the striking evolution which 

 has taken place in this increasingly popular flower. 

 Here can be seen some of the forgotten fancies of 20 

 years ago. whose lack of size was made up by the 

 length of name. In contrasting the old and ncwv. the 

 visitor is struck by the tremendous advance in form, 

 texture, color and floriferousness of the modern intro- 

 ductions and there is an added gracefulness which 

 lends a high degree of effectiveness to their decorative 

 value. The raising of new varieties has gone ahead 

 with such eelerny thai one linn alone grows over 300 

 different sorts on their trial grounds, these being in 550 

 rows which, if placed end to end, would reach a dis- 

 tance of a\ er two miles. 



THE NEW SECTIONS 



The new- waved form marked an interesting depart- 

 ure. The first of this series was Countess Spencer, 

 with graceful waved standard and wings, this having 

 heen raised by Mr. Silas Cole, head gardener to Earl 

 Spencer. Althorp Park, Northampton. From this va- 

 riety other fascinating novelties have been evolved, and 

 have gamed many honors on the show table. In recent 

 years the Cupid sweet peas, the dwarf-growing section, 

 have been introduced from America, and these are found 

 useful for raised beds and rock gardens. To America 

 •we also owe the newer winter-flowering section. Mr. 

 A. Zvolanek. of Bound Brook, has the credit of being 

 the first to secure a variety that provided a welcome 

 'blaze of color at Christmas-time. Mr. Engelmann has 



paid attention to this >ection, and in dull December he 

 make- a gaj display of bloom in liis greenhouses. The 

 Rev. I-;. Arkwright, of Algiers, sometime ago discovered 

 that some of tin sweet peas had a tendency to flower 

 early. By a process of selection he was able to have 

 varieties which flowered in December from the Septem- 

 ber sowing. Some of these have been experimented 

 with in England, where they have flowered under glass 

 early in the New Year. 



THE XATIOX At. SOCIETY'S WOIMv 



Useful work in the interests of the flower it repre- 

 sents lias been accomplished by the National Sweet Pea 

 Society, which was founded after the bi-centenary cel- 

 ebration at the Crystal Palace in 1!J00. In addtition 

 to the successful shows organized in London and the 

 provinces, the Society has rendered a praiseworthy 

 service in the holding of trials of new varieties at the 

 University College Gardens, Reading. These trials are 

 useful in enabling the committee to select the best varie- 

 ties in the respective color sections, to place their "hall- 

 mark" on the most meritorious kinds, and to bracket 

 the synonymous varieties. The Floral Committee at the 

 London show restricted their awards in the novelty sec- 

 tion to those which have been inspected in cultivation 

 this summer at the Reading trials. This prevented an 

 award being given to a variety which has not been prop- 

 erly fixed, for amongst the newer race there is a great 

 tendency to '"sport." 



The National Society recommends the following as 

 the best in their colors: White, Dorothy Eckford and 

 Nora Unwin ; crimson and scarlet, King Edward and 

 Queen Alexandra: rose and carmine, John Ingman; 

 yellow and buff, Mrs. Collier: blue, Lord Nelson and 

 Romolo Piazzani : blush, Mrs. Hardcastle Sykes: cerise, 

 Coccinea ; pink. Countess Spencer. 



There is now a wide variation of tints from which a 

 choice can he made, whilst the long, stout stems are 

 found extremely advantageous for decorative purposes 

 The warmer tones of color show up to perfection under 

 the artificial light. What the future has in store for 

 those who are experimenting with this subject affords 

 wide scope for speculation. It may be that before many 

 more seasons have given their gay contribution to the 

 garden the long-looked-for yellow, akin to the tint of 

 Coreopsis grandiflora will have gladdened the heart of 

 some painstaking hybridiser. 



>?#/. ad6*&. 



SPECIAL 



Convention Number 



WILL BE PUBLISHED 



NEXT WEEK, August 15, 1908. 



DON'T MISS IT. 



Send Advertising Copy NOW and 

 We'll Do the Rest. 



