38 THE BOOK OF THE SWEET PEA 



assurance of the plants flowering sooner to brighten the 

 surroundings of our home, and this is an achievement 

 worth striving after. 



We prefer to sow our seeds in the tubs, etc., outdoors 

 in the closing days of February, or in early March at the 

 latest. This subject being a hardy annual, growers may 

 rest assured that, seeds sown at the time mentioned will 

 come through the peculiarities of our climate satisfactorily 

 and will yield good results in the flowering period. 



So many growers, especially those who have a limited 

 experience as must necessarily be all too frequently the 

 case with growers in such circumstances, are disposed to 

 sow the seeds too thickly. This is one of the chief faults 

 of most enthusiasts, no matter what their circumstances 

 may be. Sow the seeds thinly, and that good results 

 may accrue, we should be disposed to sow them one and 

 half to two inches deep, at intervals of three inches in 

 the surface soil. It is a good plan to sow the seeds in a 

 ring rather than dispose them equi-distant over the whole 

 of the surface soil, otherwise the seedlings in the centre 

 of the pot or tub may subsequently, through overcrowd- 

 ing, fail to do well. This will be quite close enough, 

 assuming all the seeds germinate and evolve plants. 

 Should the whole of the seeds germinate we should be 

 disposed to remove one here and there in order that full 

 justice may be done to those that are retained. It is 

 astonishing what one plant will produce in the way of 

 flowers in the course of a season. When growers learn 

 to appreciate the great possibilities of the Sweet Pea they 

 will understand the reason for this thinning out of plants 

 that are somewhat crowded. 



Some growers prefer to raise their plants under glass, 

 that is to say, in the greenhouse or conservatory, and 

 where they have this advantage it is something they 

 should take full advantage of. In the ordinary course 

 with plants raised under glass, it is usual to sow the 



