INTRODUCTION 3 



which may possibly have widespread effects, and will 

 probably add to the enthusiasm of its already zealous 

 adherents. Looking backward, men of middle age 

 will recall what was the invariable practice in the days 

 of their youth. In most gardens at that time, named 

 varieties, of distinct colours, were almost unknown, 

 mixed seed being alone available for the ordinary 

 admirer of this useful hardy flower. Even at that 

 period Sweet Pea seeds were cheap, so cheap in fact 

 that they were invariably sown thickly, and the plants, 

 of course, suffered in consequence. Hazel stakes 

 three to four feet in length were then considered ample, 

 and so they were, because the culture of this subject was 

 so little understood. 



"With the advent of the named varieties of the late Mr 

 Henry Eckford's raising, a change for the better set in. 

 The original work accomplished by this veteran florist 

 will never be forgotten, as it is mainly through his efforts 

 that we are in possession of the many beautiful Sweet 

 Peas of to-day. In the thirty to forty years during 

 which Mr Eckford's painstaking endeavours were in 

 progress, constant change was being brought into 

 effect. The public, or at least those who could 

 appreciate what was being done, were delighted to 

 acquire the new sorts as opportunity offered, and when 

 the time arrived for an annual distribution of his 

 novelties, there were always eager purchasers ready to 

 acquire them. 



Improvement, in both form and colour, was ex- 

 emplified in the new varieties from time to time, and it 

 must be admitted that the novelties distributed in the few 

 years immediately preceding his much-lamented decease, 

 were varieties of the highest quality, which still find 

 favour with growers of to-day. It is a remarkable fact 

 that market growers show a decided preference for 

 what we may term the Eckfordian type of the Sweet Pea. 



