44 



IRISH GAKDKNING 



liavf lilk-cl iIk- piU.N uiih riHn> lr;in>tLi iIil-ih to 

 4-incli pots, iisiiis^ tho sanu- soil. lliev will 

 i\-qiiire but litllo water tiiillu'r ll>an spiayiiii^ 

 until tlioir roots ai».- aj,Mi>> ;it.ti\v.'. Spray \vali.i 

 ircoly amoMc.st iIk- pots aiul i>\\,t tin- staj;*-'. 

 This will toiul to keep tlu- wd spider aiul ihrips 

 at ha\ . In .Ma\ i1k\ will he ready lor 5-inili 

 or (>-ineh pots. All tliose ret.|uired lor earl\ 

 winter decoration will (lower well in the latter. 

 The same eompost ean Ix- used, with a little 

 cow manure addetl. The plants cui now he 

 stood in ("rames. on a het.1 ot ashes, close to the 

 i^'-lass. .\ir must he j^ixen o\\ the sheltered side 

 so as to a\oid drauj^hts. Spray nuMiiiui; and 

 evening. ;iih1 shade durin- the hrii^ht part ot 

 the (.lav. They will now make rapid proi^ress. 

 and more space must be j^ixen tii them as their 

 t'oliaj^e develops. In June those which are in 

 ^-inchpots should be moved into 7 or S-inch 

 pots, using- the same compost, hut much 

 rouijher, and treat as above recomnienLled. 

 In September j.;i\e more air and less shade, 

 which will aid the plants in settiui^- their 

 flowers. Overhead moisliu'e must now be 

 withheld, and care must be taken that the 

 plants do not suft'er for want ot" water at their 

 roots. Marlv in October the plants can be 

 placed wliere they are to llovver. Those in 

 t)-inch pots will require a little feeding- once 

 each week. .\ little Clay's fertilizer in the 

 water, I find, suits them well. 



They will require a temperature of5odeg;rees 

 with air, avoiding- cold draug-hts. They will 

 tlower freely in November, and continue in great 

 beauty for over three months. After flowering-, 

 if it is desirable to retain the plants for another 

 vear. they must be kept cooler, parti v with- 

 holding- water until their foliag-e dies back ; 

 then they should be shaken out and planted in 

 a frame facing- north. Cover the cornis with an 

 inch of sifted leaf-mould, which will cause them 

 to start freely and send up foliag-e in abundance. 

 Before their foliag-e develops they should be 

 carefully lifted and potted, stood in frames, 

 shaded, and receive the same attention as 

 recommended for young- plants. The result 

 will be extra fine plants, with an abundance of 

 bloom, but the individual blooms will not be 

 iiearly as fine as those produced by the one 

 year old plants. I should mention that when 

 the plants have bean placed in their flowering- 

 quarters it is advisable to have the house 

 fumig-ated two or three times before the flowers 

 open. 



Ilic ^' Sweet Pea AmuKil/' 



Till-; .N.ilixii.il Swiii I'lM Socii-ty li;i>,jii.st issm-il 

 it^ "Aiimi.-il" (or 11)11, edited l>y Me.s.srs. 

 Iloni-eJ. \Viii;iil .iiul Ch.iries H. eurtis. This 

 is iIr- M-vi'iitii yo.u- i>r is-,111'. .iiul iMch year lias shown .1 

 marked improvi-nu-iil imi llie previous one, until \vi- 

 now have a volunu- o( i.^j paijes. Cull of nil that is most 

 inlerestini;- to swi-el pi-a j;io\vi-rs. The ".Annual" is 

 sent free to all members of tin- society, .and the suh- 

 si-riplion. wliieli K'ves In-c .ulniission to its shows, fri-t- 

 I'litrame (or i-xhibils, and ni.iii\ otliiT .idvantaj^i's, is 

 onl\ live sl)illirii;s pi-r aiifunn. 



Amontfst the many interest ini.; articles to be foiinil in 

 • The .\inuial " the (ollowinic may be menlioneil : .\n 

 account of the " Telemly ' Suiit i'eas, b}' the Kev. 

 Joseph Jacob, of dalTodil ami tulip fame, who visited at 

 his .Algerian liome the inti-odueer of these winter flower- 

 ing sweet peas — the i\ev. Kdwyn Arkvvright--he tolls 

 MS that there are now eighteen varieties of these now 

 on the market. They are a distinct aequisition, 

 iLciviiig flowers of beautiful form and delicious fragrance, 

 wliirh hloom several months before the sweet peas 

 with which we are familiar ; they are all of the grandi- 

 rtora type. Mr. Arkwright has also cross-fertilized 

 with the waved varieties, and he will have five of this 

 type lo offer ne.xt summer, so that we may iiave 

 sweet peas in hloom from February to November by 

 sowing these and the summer varieties in rotation. 

 .Mr. S. B. Dicks writes on "Sweet Peas in British 

 Columbia " ; Mr. C. Harman Payne on •' The Biblio- 

 graphy of the Sweet Pea" ; Mr. Thomas Stevenson, of ex- 

 hibiting fame, on " Lavender Sweet Peas " ; Mr. William 

 Lumsden, the raiser of those most beautiful and popu- 

 lar varieties, "Constance Oliver" and " Marjorie 

 Willis," discomses on the prices of sweet pea seeds, 

 and enlightens us as lo the great expense of working 

 up a stock of fixed seed before it can be placed on the 

 market, especially since the advent of the waved 

 sweet peas, which arc not such good seeders. Then 

 there is an account of the "Outings" of the society 

 to the trial grounds, where all the new kinds are 

 thoroughly tested before the\- can receive awards from 

 the society. 



These trials were conducted at the Times Experi- 

 mental Station at Sutton, in Surrey, under the care and 

 supervision o'i Mr. Charles I-"osler. whose death on the 

 16th nil., at the early age of 4^^, we deeply regret to 

 record. 



.Vn exhaustive report is given of the " Investi- 

 gation of Sweet Pea Diseases." and a full account 

 of the Sweet Pea Conference, at which a paper was 

 read on "Judging Sweet Peas," by Mr. Walter P. 

 Wright, and one on " The Cultivation of Sweet Peas," by 

 Mr. George Herbert ; an animated discussion followed 

 on each of these subjects, in which very many of those 

 present took part. A catalogue is given of all the 

 sweet peas now in commerce ; a list of those varieties 

 which are considered too much alike, and an audit of the 

 blooms at the London show last year. Those who wish 

 to join the society should communicate with the Hon. 

 Sec, Mr. C. H. Curtis, Adelaide Road, Brentford. 

 Middlesex, who will also supply copies of "The 

 Annual " to non-subscribers for two shillings, post free. 



