58 THE BOOK OF THE SWEET PEA 



Twenty-four hours in either cold or warm water 

 will have a wonderful effect upon the seeds ; they 

 will swell visibly, and in the case of those placed in 

 warm water, signs of germination will be apparent. 



When actually sowing the seeds it is a good 

 plan to sow those of a size together ; there are always 

 variations in the size of the swollen seeds. In this 

 way the resulting plants are more likely to be of 

 even size and their subsequent development better in 

 consequence. 



A suitable compost for raising Sweet Peas in pots 

 should comprise three parts of good fibrous loam, one 

 part each of thoroughly decayed horse manure and leaf 

 mould, with sufficient coarse sand or clean road grit 

 added to make the compost porous. Before using, 

 see that these soils are well mixed and thus provide 

 compost of a character that will maintain the young 

 plants in health until the planting period is reached. 



Both pots and crocks should be washed scrupulously 

 clean, otherwise when the plants are turned out pre- 

 paratory to planting, the roots may adhere to the sides 

 of the pots, etc., and be torn and lacerated in consequence. 

 Such a state of affairs must be avoided. 



Crock the pots, etc., carefully, so that good drainage 

 may be effected. A good concave piece should cover 

 the hole in the bottom of each pot, and smaller pieces be 

 placed carefully over this. A piece of turfy loam or 

 some of the rougher soil should cover the crocks ; the 

 compost should then be filled to within an inch of the 

 rim of the pot and made fairly firm. A portion of sifted 

 soil should cover this, and the seeds be sown rather 

 more than half an inch deep. If in five-inch or six-inch 

 pots, five seeds sown equi-distant answers very well in- 

 deed. One or two seeds may also be sown in " thumb " 

 pots or deep sixties (three-inch pots). Individual seeds 

 give resulting seedlings that the grower may achieve 



