December, 191 1 



THE CANADIAN HOETICULTURIST 



283 



Svvcct Peas and Their Culture* 



Thomas D. Dockray, Toronto, Ont. 



Figure 5 



courage the one whose efforts testify to 

 an intelligent appreciation of the works 

 of nature. 



Amaryllis 



TkM. Jackira, Agricalturil College, Winnipeg 



These are beautiful bulbous plants 

 from the Cape of Good Hope. They grow 

 remarkably well as a house plant, pro- 

 ducing under the simplest conditions 

 one, two or even three spikes from eigh- 

 teen to twenty-four inches in height, 

 with from three to six large tiumpet- 

 shaped blooms, which last a long time 

 in good condition- They can be secured 

 from any good nui sery or seed house dur- 

 ing the winter or early spring. 



As soon as the bulbs are received, 

 they should be planted in pots an inch 

 or so larger than the diameter of the 

 bulbs. Plant them so that the widest 

 part of the bulb is covered with soil and 

 the top part or neck left exposed. For 

 soil, use two parts of good fibrous loam, 

 one part of well rotted manure or [eaf 

 mould a little sand, and a sprinkling of 

 flour well mixed together. 



After potting put them right in the 

 window, and water sparingly at first, 

 and if they are well matured bulbs ii 

 will not be long before the flower scapes 

 appear, and after that the leaves. 



It will then be necessary to water 

 more freely as the plant develops. When 

 in bloom a medium temperature with a 

 light shade will prolong the flowering 

 period. 



Why don't they keep the streets a little 

 cleaner? 

 You ask with deep annoyance not 

 undue. 

 Why don't they keep the parks a little 

 greener? 

 (Did you ever stop to think that they 

 means you?) 



For the decoration of the home and 

 the garden no flower is more popular 

 than the sweet pea. More seed of it is 

 sold than of any other flower and to cre- 

 ate a new variety is the dream of every 

 hybridist. 



To produce the largest and earliest 

 blooms, sweet peas should be grown in 

 full sunliglht. If the slanting shadcw of 

 a tall tree or building should happen to 

 fall upon them for an hour or so in the 

 afternoon it will help to prevent them 

 from burning in the sun, but more shade 

 than this will make them weak and in- 

 effective. Heavy clay soil is said to be 

 the best for them, but in Toronto we 

 have had fair success on clay loam and 

 even on sandy soil. 



Prepare the ground in tihe fall by dig- 

 ging the earth out of the place where the 

 sweet peas are to grow to a depth of 

 three or four feet. Then mix this earth 

 thoroughly with about the same amount 

 of manure, the older the better, and 

 fill tihe hole dug with this mixture to 

 within six inches of the top. Break up 

 some decayed sod fine and mix some 

 bone meal and soot with it, also some 

 wood ashes and a little lime, and fill up 

 the remaining six inches. It the soil is 

 not prepared until spring, then use only 

 the manure, at least one year old, and 

 bone meal. 



CHEMICAL FERTILIZER 



Superphosphate is recommended as a 

 dhemical fertilizer, or a mixture of three 

 pounds of superphosphate, one pound of 

 bone flour, one pound of nitrate of pot- 

 ash, one pound of sulphate of potash and 

 one pound of nitrate of soda. This mix- 

 ture should be lightly dug in early in 

 March, and is sufficient for a patch six- 

 teen feet square or a strip three feet wide 

 and eighty-five feet long. 



•Extract from a paper read at the annual 

 convention of the Ontario Horticultural Asso- 

 ciation, held in Toronto, November, 1911. 



Here in Toronto sowing in the fall is 

 useless. About March twentieth is the 

 earliest one may venture to sow here. 

 From tihe fifth to the tenth of April is 

 usually safe. Some seeds should also b<; 

 sown in boxes or pots under glass or in 

 the house so that the young plants 

 may be transferred to the places in the 

 row where seeds have failed to germin- 

 ate. Plants should not be grown closer 

 than six inches together. A birdscare 

 of some kind should be put up at once, 

 or the sparrows will ^et the seeds. 



HEDGES 



For hedges, only varieties well mixed 

 and of about the same iheight and vig- 

 or, should be grown. Sow in two rows, 

 leaving a space from eight to twelve 

 inches or more between the rows. Plant 

 stout posts painted or stained green 

 along the rows with cross pieces on them 

 to which to fasten the wire. When the 

 plants are up say a couple of inches, 

 place a slender twig about eighteen 

 inches long by each for support. Then 

 string the first wire eighteen inches from 

 the ground. Tie the plant loosely to the 

 twig and tie the twig firmly to the wire. 



Some varieties have very few tendrils 

 until they are over a foot high and aH 

 seem to shrink away from the wire dur- 

 ing the earlier stages of growtlh. The up- 

 per v/ires should be supplied only as 

 needed. Use the finest galvanized wire 

 that will stand the strain. The object 

 of this method ot stringing is to get the 

 best decorative effect in the garden by 

 making the support as nearly invisible 

 as possible and by keeping the tops of 

 the plants all the time just above the 

 support. If wire netting is used, it 

 sihould be put up before sowing and be 

 at least six feet high and with a six inch 

 mesh or larger. 



The advantage of brush as a support 



Practical Plant Breeding, Figure 6 



