May, 1914 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



iiy 



The Culture of Sweet Peas 



J. H. Bowman, Elmira, Ont. 



THE sweet pea is one of the most 

 popular of annual flowers, and de- 

 \ servedly so. I know of no other 



flower that will yield so much beautiful 

 'bloom over so long a period. 



Disease has been very prevalent dur- 

 ing the past few years, and appears to 

 be increasing each season. The disease, 

 commonly known as streak, is said by 

 some authorities to be caused by root 

 rot fungus. Light to dark brown streaks 

 appear on the lower parts of the stem 

 and on the leaves. The points of the 

 shoots are often abnormally thick and of 

 a yellowish color. The flowers often 

 come malformed and are usually very 

 poor in color, thin and flimsy. The 

 stems are also weak. 



Whatever the cause may be, I am 

 convinced, after three years' careful ob- 

 servation and experiment, that heavy 

 dressings of animal manure encourage 

 the development of streak. If your soil 

 is in fair condition, I wouldn't use any 

 animal manure at all, but would advise 

 the use of a phosphate and potash fer- 

 tilizer . 



Those authorities who hold that 

 "streak disease" is caused by root rot 

 fungus, Thulavia basicola, advise dis- 

 infecting the soil by one of the following 

 methods : By heating to two hundred 

 and twelve degrees F. This is hardly 

 practicable where any quantity of soil is 

 to be treated. By soaking with form- 

 alin — one per cent, solution, one part, 

 to twelve and one-half gallons of water. 

 By making holes all over the ground, 

 twelve inches apart and ten inches deep, 

 dropping half an ounce of petrol in each, 

 and closing immediately to keep vapor 

 in. This disinfection should be done at 

 least two weeks before sowing or plant- 

 ing. Some writers also advise soaking 

 the seed the night before sowing in per- 

 manganate of potash, a half-ounce to a 

 gallon of water. 



Dig your trenches about two feet wide 

 and twelve to eighteen inches deep. 

 Don't use any animal manure unless 

 your soil is in very poor condition. After 

 you have worked up the soil, dust on 

 the following fertilizer, and rake in thor- 

 oughly : Two ounces bone meal, two 

 ounces superphosphate, two ounc-es sul- 

 phate of potash f)er square yard. 



It is important to get your sweet pea 

 seeds in as early in the season as pos- 

 sible. Sweet peas do best if they have 

 an opportunity to make good root de- 

 velopment before hot weather sets in. 

 Sow seeds in two rows, one foot apart, 

 and three inches apart in the row. They 

 may be thinned later to about six inches 

 apart. 



A trellis or support of wire netting 

 or string should be provided before the 

 plants make any tendrils. Sweet peas 



never grow away so freely if the sup- 

 port is not provided in time. 



After the plants are up a few inches, 

 they should be cultivated thoroughly, 

 and this cultivation should be kept up 

 through the season at least once a week. 

 The Buco cultivator is an excellent tool 

 for this purpose. 



If you have room for but twelve var- 

 ieties, the following (selected as the best 

 of over fifty Spencer varieties I grew 

 last season) are recommended : Elfrida 

 Pearson, blush ; Etta Dyke, white ; Her- 

 cules, pink ; Mrs. Routzahn or Gladys 

 Burt, cream pinks ; Mrs. R. HaJlam, 

 deep cream pink ; Clara Curtis, cream ; 

 Nettie Jenkins, lavender; Maud Holmes 

 or King Edward Spencer, crimson ; 

 Queen of Norway, mauve ; Nubian, 

 maroon ; Mrs. C. W. Breadmore, pico- 

 tee pink on cream ground ; Thos. Stev- 

 enson or Edna Unwin Improved, orange 

 scarlet. 



Making Flower Beds 



^P. D. Powe, Caintville, Ont. 



Making the beds for garden annuals 

 is one of the most important steps 

 to be taken in the getting of 

 good flowers. In the city, where 

 manure is hard to obtain, the scrapings 

 from the road are good if mixed with a 

 little prepared fertilizer (obtainable from 

 all seed dealers) and worked into any 

 fairly good garden soil. Where manure 



is plentiful and soil abundant, a good 

 bed may be made up of one-third man- 

 ure, well rotted, and if the soil is dry, 

 one-fifth sand- Remember, the richer 

 the beds the better the plants if you can 

 keep the weeds down. 



When we have our soil well worked 

 in a pile we must decide what shape our 

 bed will take and its size. This depends 

 greatly on experience. If you are not 

 an expert and a true judge of beauty, you 

 had better stick to the plain square, 

 round, diamond or oval bed. and not try 

 any of the more complicated designs. 

 Leave these to the florist or landscape 

 gardener. 



The size of the bed should be deter- 

 mined by how much land you have at 

 your disposal. We can only say that one 

 large bed is far more beautiful and ar- 

 tistic than several small beds. 



These points decided, turn again to 

 your compost heap and after spading the 

 bed you have laid out wheel your pre- 

 pared soil upon it and with a rake round 

 it up and make it to the size and form 

 decided on. Remove all grass, weeds, 

 stones and other matter, and make the 

 whole firm and smooth, gently sloping 

 towards the edges of the bed. Long, 

 narrow beds may be made in the same 

 manner at the foot of a trellis or along 

 the porch, where vines may be planted. 

 These beds are best prepared as soon in 

 the spring as the ground is ready to 

 work. 



When trees are starting leaf take a stick 

 and make shallow lines in the beds. Sow 



An Arch of Dorothy Feikint Roiet in Bloomlat entrance to Rc«e Gaiden of Wm. Hartrj 



Saaforth, Ont. 



Fully one thousand oboioe rosee are irown in Soaforth by some ha.lf doien enthuaiauu. They 



inolude all the standard varieties and nutny new sorts that promise to inoreaae in popularity 



Mr. Hartry keeps bees as well as roses. Ilis honey bouse may be sapn in the bochrmnnd. 



