IRISH GARDENING 



»$ 



Sweet Peas. 



By Edward Cowdy, Greenhall, Loughgall, Co 

 Armaah. 



enough to whiten it as if there had been a shower 

 of snow, and allowed to remain so until a week or 

 so before planting time, which should never be 

 sooner than 25th March, nor later than the 



The past season was more or less unsatisfactory 20th of April. H, however, the preparation of 



to the Sweet Pea exhibitor, 



following the glorious season 



of 1911. Some of the enthu- 

 siasts who had not their roots 



deeply embedded in the ups 



and downs of the culture of 



this beautiful and pleasure- 

 giving annual must have got 



their ardour, if not them- 

 selves, well damped. How- 

 ever, it was a year of great 



bloom, and I have never 



seen fin^r flowers than those 



which were staged in the 



early part of the season. 

 The dreaded streak was 



not so prevalent, and I am 



firmly convinced that the 



great cause of this disease is 



the careless and too free 



use of nitrogenous manures. 



Certainly in the rows that 



I used no farmyard manure, 



and substituted two ounces 



to the square yard of sul- 

 phate of potash, I had no 



disease, and here I gathered 



some of my finest blooms. 



Of course my soil was fairly 



rich to begin with. 



The secret of success in 



the cultivation of Sweet Pea, 



in my opinion, is dee]) and 



thorough trenching in the 



autumn or early spring ; if 



this is done in the former, 



which is much more satis- 

 factory, a small quantity of 



farmyard manure can be 



added with advantage, but it 



must be at least six months 



old, and then thoroughly in- 

 corporated with the soil in 



the lower part of trench, and 



none of it to come within 



nine inches of the surface, so 



that the young roots will 



not come in contact with it 



until they are able to beat' 



the stimulant which it gives ; 



to the top nine inches add 



the potash manures, and 



leave the surface rough. 



Then a good sprinkling of 



slacked lime should be "ha- 



ken over the whole ground. Pll0t6 by Etta Dyke. [Hogg & Robertson 



