SWEET PEAS AND THEIR IMPROVEMENT. 149 
used in case of a severe drought, by raising a ridge of dirt three 
inches high. Fill this with a mulch of old, decomposed manure 
made very fine. This seems to keep the ground cool and moist, 
and with each successive shower of rain or wetting by artificial 
means, the enriching qualities of the manure and ashes arecarried 
to the roots of the plants, and if the blossoms are closely picked, 
letting none go to seed, they will yield continuous bloom until the 
frost kills the vines. 
The after cultivation of keeping the soil loose and well worked 
between the rows should be a cardinal feature and should not be 
neglected all through the season. This is very easy if proper 
mulching, free from weed seed, has been provided, only pulling out 
here and there any weeds that may appear. 
SELECTION OF SEEDS, 
In the selection of seed I shall not give a long list of named 
varieties, for there are very many new kinds. Each admiring, 
enthusiastic collector has his preferences as to color and variety to 
grow, every year the seedsmen and florists catalogue new sorts, and if 
we were to believe all their glowing descriptions about new varieties 
and favorites they would appear far superior to any before pre- 
sented. The old adage “The new broom sweeps clean the pocket” 
is true as to the fancy price paid too often for the many new things 
when some old, tried, cheaper kinds would be equally as good and 
frequently give better results. 
After trying many of these new high priced novelties, and in 
many instances meeting with but indifferent success, Ihave thought 
best to stick to that good old tried sort, the Painted Lady, or Apple 
Blossom, for a main crop, which for all climates of short seasons 
possesses more points of excellence, all things considered, than any 
other variety with which Iam acquainted. The past season, when 
tested alike in parallel rows beside those grown from California 
seed, it proved to be two weeks earlier and much more prolific, I 
never had finer sweet peas in vine and bloom, especially those 
grown from my own raising of seed. 
I procured the seed of this variety originally from an old French- 
man, an enthusiastic amateur cultivator of the sweet pea, who, 
when living, I noticed, always had the finest sweet pea blossoms of 
all the cultivators in the city. This strain of seed I have endeavored 
to keep pure and to improve their blossoming qualities by selecting 
seed from those that have three and four flowers to each blossom 
stem, : 
I find, asa rule, not only with the sweet pea but with all classes of 
fruits, flowers and vegetables that, unless continual care is exer- 
cised in selecting seed from only those plants that are the most 
productive and show the greatest number of good qualities, the 
stock will soon degenerate and become unproductive. 
Another point in the selection of seed to which I wish to call your 
particular attention that applies to a great variety of plants, is that 
the transition of seed from a southern climate with a long season of 
growth to a northern climate with a much shorter season, in many 
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