44 THE BOOK OF THE SWEET PEA 



Another essential of no mean order is that the plants 

 should possess a good sound constitution. Weak and 

 delicate kinds are of no use for the treatment that most 

 so-called garden sorts invariably experience ; therefore 

 soundness of constitution is an important factor in a variety 

 suitable for the garden. 



A garden Sweet Pea to be of real value must be 

 something quite distinct. Self-coloured sorts are of 

 course the more effective, flowers of this kind standing 

 out more distinctly in the clumps or rows of Sweet Peas, 

 contrasting and blending with greater effectiveness than 

 the more dainty fancy flowers that we all appreciate so 

 highly when a gathering is made and a few blossoms 

 placed immediately before us. The fancy tinted flowers 

 as well as the bi-colours have a charm peculiarly their own 

 and just a few of them could be mentioned as especially 

 noteworthy in this respect. However, for effectiveness, 

 the last-mentioned kinds will not compare with their self- 

 coloured rivals in the garden. There is another essential 

 trait in the character of a garden Sweet Pea that must 

 not be overlooked, and this is the question of habit. 

 Varieties that possess a good habit, i.e. those that evolve 

 plants of pleasing and even contour and that are always 

 a " thing of beauty," must of necessity possess a charm 

 that less interesting and less elegant plants never can 

 have. For this reason, therefore, we should look for 

 plants of pleasing habit that also embrace each of the 

 other factors contributing to the building up of an ideal 

 garden Sweet Pea. Quite a number of our sweetest 

 and most beautiful Sweet Peas fail to attain to the 

 standard herein laid down for a good garden variety. 

 Regretful as it is to acknowledge this fact, it is much 

 better to face the matter honestly in the hope that suc- 

 ceeding introductions may attain to a higher ideal in 

 this respect. 



It is interesting to note how complex is this question 



