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THE GARDENERS" CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



One pot will be found sufficient to form a good 

 clump, and some growers favor this method of grow- 

 ing Sweet Peas^-the ground for the clump having been 

 prepared by taking out the soil to a depth of about 

 three feet by three feet and preparing it as before 

 explained for the row system. 



When planting in rows each potful should be planted 

 about eighteen inches apart in the row. Place the 

 entire ball of soil with plants and twigs — taking care 

 to keep all intact with the exception of loosening the 

 mass of roots at the base — in the hole previously pre- 

 pared for its reception. If the plants are well watered 

 the day before planting, the ball of soil will be more 

 likely to remain entire when knocked out of the pot. 

 Should the weather be very dry at the time of plantmg, 

 it may be found advisable to give the newly trans- 

 planted vines a thorough watering, and this will like- 

 wise help to settle the soil about the roots. 



A good ring of soot (which should be collected dur- 

 ing the season from the stove-pipe) put on the soil 

 round the plants will now be of the greatest possible 

 benefit in warding off insects, and even a slight dust- 

 ing of the same material over the }(iung vines has 

 been used also to advantage. 



SOWING OUT OF DOORS. 



Those who have not the conxeniences — or, per- 

 chance, think it too much trouble — for the pot method 

 of Sweet Pea culture, should plant the seeds as early 

 in the spring as soil and weather conditions will allow. 

 Whether the ground has been prepared as advised, or 

 simply dug over one spit deep, the pnicedure is the 

 same. 



A small trench or furrow alnnit four inches deep 

 should be taken out and the seed sown evenh% using 

 about one ounce of seed to a fifteen-foot row — covering 

 with two inches of soil. After covering make the sur- 

 face soil fairly firm and finish all by putting a good 

 dusting of soot along the row, as this will keep away 

 birds and insects. 



When the seedlings are about two inches high, thin 

 out the young plants, leaving one to every six inches, 

 as this will be found quite sufficient to give you a good, 

 thrifty row, allowing the air and light to circulate 

 freely among the growing vines, giving more room to 

 the gross feeding and deep searching roots, the natural 

 results being larger flowers, longer stems, better color, 

 and more flowers. As the young vines grow, the soil 

 should be hoed up to them on either side, thus 

 strengthening the plants and keeping them in an up- 

 right position, while the slight trench thus made on 

 either side of the row is of great benefit when watering 

 the plants during a dry spell, or. on the other hand, it 

 acts as a natural drain in carrying off the superfluous 

 moisture during a \ery wet period. 



STAKING AND TRELLISING. 



A great diversity of opinion prevails over the ques- 

 tion of the most suitable material for staking Sweet 

 Pea vines. My own opinion on the matter is strongly 

 in favor of good twiggy boughs cut in the late Winter 

 or early Spring, that they may be on the green side and 

 so tough enough to last the season. If boughs are 

 used, they ought to be inserted at least one fiH't in the 

 soil with the tops inclining, if anything, a little out- 

 wards: i. e., the tops of the l)oughs should not meet, 

 as it is at this part that so much space is wanted when 

 the Peas are in full growth, therefore b}' inclining your 

 sticks outwards it leaves room for all top growth and 

 tends to keep your vines in an upright position. 

 Should your sticks not 1)C twiggy at the bottom, it 

 will be found desirable to insert a few short boughs 



between the taller sticks wherever found necessary. 

 Now although we might all wish to stake our Sweet 

 Peas with boughs, in the majority of cases this is an 

 impossibility through our inability to procure them; 

 therefore, the question of the next best substitute arises, 

 and this is to be found in wire netting of 4 or 6-inch 

 mesh. The initial cost of this material is certainly a 

 drawback where a large area of Sweet Peas is grown, 

 but it will be found the cheapest in the long run, lasting 

 as it does for many years. Netting 4 to 6 feet wide will 

 be found sufficient for this locality, btit in cooler sec- 

 tions where the Sweet Pea vines flourish as they do in 

 our extreme Northern States, Canada, and England, this 

 width may have to be doubled. Stakes to support the 

 wire netting will have to be used, driving these 12 or 18 

 inches into the ground. Some growers ttse only one row 

 of wire netting, but we believe in the double row, say 12 

 inches apart. Another method is the use of soft, light 

 jute twine. In this case stout stakes are used, driving 

 one into the ground every five feet down the rows on 

 either side of the Peas, then running the twine from stake 

 to stake, commencing a few inches from the ground with 

 6 inches between each length. This will be found a most 

 economical method of staking your peas, though not so 

 satisfactory as boughs or wire netting. 



CULTIVATING, MANURING AND WATERING. 



The liberal use of the hoe between the rows and plants 

 will be found of great service in conserving moisture and, 

 of course, at the same time keeping down the weeds. 

 Should the weather set in very dry and hot, a liberal 

 mulching of manure or grass should be given, extending 

 quite 12 inches on either side of the plants, and a thor- 

 ough watering two or three times a week will keep your 

 seedlings on the move. No liquid manure should be ap- 

 plied, however, until the first blossoms appear, and then 

 only sparingly — or rather in a weak state — at first, al- 

 ternating the waterings with clear water. As the plants 

 come into full flower the manure may be made much 

 stronger. 



Now, as to the kind of manure to apply. We know 

 that growers of experience have their own pet manures 

 and mixtures, but the following may all be relied upon. 

 One of the least expensive, and one which at the same 

 time almost serves a double purpose by both feeding the 

 plant and acting as an insecticide, is soot. Place about 

 a peck of soot in a bag and let it dissolve for a few hours 

 in an old tub or barrel filled with water. Guano may be 

 used in the proportion of one pound to 20 gallons of wa- 

 ter : or sulphate of potash, one ounce to one gallon of 

 water. Farmyard liquid manure, used about the color 

 of weak tea, is also of service, and nitrate of soda might 

 be used occasionally at the rate of, say. one-quarter ounce 

 to a gallon of water. When using liquid manure, it is 

 well to let it follow a thorough soaking with clear water, 

 that the fertilizing material may penetrate to the lowest 

 roots, and if possible all watering should be done after 

 the sun has gone down, as this will to a great extent save 

 the cracking of the soil and allow the plants to get the 

 full benefit of the moisture. Spraying the vines over- 

 head in the cool of the evening will be found to benefit 

 the plants during a hot, dry spell. 



BUDS DROPPING. 



Wliere the plants have been well cultivated and heavily 

 manured and the vines consequently are growing vigor- 

 ously, it sometimes happens that a' large proportion of 

 the iirst buds drop from the flower stem before opening, 

 and it often follows a period of wet and cool weather. 

 But the grower need not be alarmed at this, as the vines 

 will soon assume their natural mode of procedure, all 

 buds subsequently opening and remaining on the stem as 



