784 



THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



sustenance) are retarded in their development and be- 

 cause this bacterial flora must have a free supply of air. 

 the mulch should be of a loose nature, straw litter or 

 dried leaves. 



Unfortunately, some of the finest kinds of orange, 

 salmon, scarlet and crimson shades must be protected 

 from the sun if we would have them at their Ijest and so 

 to facilitate the application of shade these varieties should 

 be planted together. Light cheesecloth is sometimes used 

 to stretch over these kinds that burn, as it is quite ine>;- 

 pensive, but a more satisfactory shade is made by erect- 

 ing a light wooden framework, and by nailing ordinary 

 builder's lath spaced about an inch apart. Through this 

 the plants seem to get all the light necessary, a free cir- 

 culation of air and the flowers will not burn. 



Even the tiainty, fairy-like sweet pea is not exempt 

 from the attacks of insect pests, and among these green 

 fly is perhaps the worst. The only remedy for this pest 

 is some form of nicotine spray, of which there are a num- 

 ber on the market, and a careful grower will not let this 

 or any other insect get a very strong hold on his plants 

 before he takes measures for its eradication. Red spider 

 may be kept in check in water applied forcibly witli the 

 hose, and thrips, like the green fly, must be fought with a 

 nicotine spray. 



Of the fungoid diseases, mildew is at once the most 

 common and ])erha])s the hardest to deal with, for while 

 there are many prejaarations on the market for the pre- 

 vention and cure of mildew, the best way to combat it is 

 to keep up the natural resistance of the plants by con- 

 serving their vigor as long as possible. A soil well sup- 

 plied with potash is supposed to preserve the i)lants from 

 attacks of the so-called streak disease, but healthy plants 

 set out on new ground annually is tire surest way of 

 avoiding all the diseases. 



.Vo one should think that rows are the best and only 

 means of planting sweet peas. Rows undoubtedly are 

 the most satisfactory means where cut flowers and econ- 

 omy of labor arc the main objectives, but where a pleas- 

 ing artistic efi^ect is desired, then we nia\ i^lant in clumps 

 at liie back of herbaceous l)orders. or in beds or in curved 



lines, or yet in tubs for standing on terraces or verandahs, 

 or they may be planted to hide an unsightly wall or build- 

 ing ; in fact, there is almost endless scope for the grower's 

 ability in forming harmonious color combinations and 

 pleasing effects in general by the propoer disposition of 

 this charming plant. 



There is such a host of varieties to choose from that 

 the prospective grower may well be bewildered in mak- 

 ing a choice, and with the idea that it may aid some, I 

 will name a few of each color, that, having grown them 

 myself. I know to be good: 



W bite — King White, Snowdon. Nore Unwin. 



Cream — Bobbies Cream. Primrose Beauty, Isabel Mal- 

 colm. 



La\ender — (Jrchid — R. I". Felton. Mrs. Heslington. 



Maroon — Xubian. Mrs. Cowdy. King Manoel. 



Scarlet — Scarlet lunperor. \'ermillion Brilliant. 



Crimson — Maud Holmes, Kind Edward Spencer. 



Dark Blue — Navy Paradise, Lord Xelson Spencer. 



Cream Pink — Mrs. Hugh Dickson. Doris Usher, Mrs. 

 Routzahn. 



Pink — Margaret .\tlee, Hercules. Countess Spencer. 



Rose Pink — John Ligram, George Herbert, Rosabelle. 



Orange Pirik — Edrom Beauty, Helen Lewis. 



Orange Scarlet — Edna Unwin, Thomas Stevenson. 



The following dozen kinds are bi-colors, flaked, 

 striped and mottled, but are wonderfully fine things and 

 should be grown by every one that can afford the space : 



Afterglow, Prince George, Bertie Usher. Mrs. W. J. 

 Unwin, "Arthur Green, Senator Spencer. Helen Pierce 

 Spencer. Inspector, Alelba, Charles Foster, Agricola and 

 ^irs. Cuthbertson. 



The Rev. W. T. Hutchins said of the sweet pea : "The 

 sweet pea has a keel that has meant to seek all shores; 

 it has wings that were meant to fly across all continents ; 

 it lias a standard which is friendly to all nations; and it 

 has a fragrance like the universal Gospel, yea, a sweet 

 prophecy of welcome everywhere which has been abund- 

 anth' fulfilled." — Paper read before Horticultural Society 

 of \cv York. 



Soil Robbing vs. Soil Building 



By William Galloway. 



The a\(.ragc .American farmer is often accused of rob- 

 bing his soil by the methods he uses to farm it. Thi> 

 accusation being made by soil culturists who know what 

 good farming is, should long ago have been heeded. We 

 Inv? Im'vii called soil robbers for the simple reason that 

 we iiave been taking from the soil more than we have 

 returned to it. Possibly this has been true because we 

 did not realh' know what to return to the land to keep 

 up its fertility. lUit it is doulitful if any man really 

 thought about his farming operations and overlooked the 

 fact that what he was feeding to the soil was out of pro- 

 portion to what he was trying to take from it. 



.Soil farming is common sense farming. It is taking 

 oft' crops and restoring used plant food-soil fertility. Tak- 

 ing off crops and returning chemical fertilizers is not soil 

 farming, though at times chemicals must be restored so 

 that the land be put quickly into shape to grow crops 

 that will enrich itself. When a cover crop of cowpeas 

 or soy beans or vetch is turned under for the green 

 manure it feeds to the soil, the i)rocess is nothing but 

 simply chemistry applied to farming. You put the green 

 niaiulre under the ground so the land will get the nitro- 

 gen, humus (which is rotted vegetation that makes a soil 

 black ) and other organic matter as well as the |)hosphorus 

 contained in the cover crop. 



1 )eep ploughing brings to the surface plant foods that 

 shallow rooted plants cannot reach. That is the why of 

 a good crop following deep ploughing. The roots of the 

 growing crop feed upon nitrogen, phosphorus, potash 

 and other plant foods that deep ploughing brings up 

 where the crop can feed upon them. Legumes are nearly 

 all ta]) rooted plants that burrow their way down into the 

 soil and feed upon these plant foods, bringing them near- 

 er the surface and making them available for the grain 

 or other crops which follow. The ability of properly in- 

 oculated legumes to store nitrogen in their roots also 

 stores in the soil this first element of all plant food ; and 

 in addition to storing nitrogen for crops that may follow 

 them, legumes may be used for money cro]is, stock feed- 

 ing crops and other purposes and will not deplete the 

 land upon which they are grown. 



.\ part of the small roots of all legume plants die off" 

 annually and form humus, which makes the soil more 

 porous and consequently adds to its ])hysical condition. 

 Commercial fertilizers must be used annually because the 

 crops on which they are used and their constant leeching 

 away demand it. Fertilizers are too expensive for per- 

 manent farming in the first place, and they do not im- 

 prove the soil's physical condition. Dig into an\- virgin 

 soil and you will find it full of humus and plant food. 



