64 THE BOOK OF THE SWEET PEA 



the reader naturally asks at this juncture, and in reply, 

 we must answer the query in qualifying terms. A 

 sowing made in mid-September invariably answers well, 

 as it enables the grower to get his plants well established 

 and hardened before the bad weather of late autumn or 

 early winter sets in. There are some well-known 

 growers who make a sowing in early October and also 

 others who defer the sowing until late October and 

 November, and success uniformly attends their efforts. 

 In and around the neighbourhood of large towns, the 

 practice of sowing Sweet Peas in the autumn should 

 be discouraged, not on account of the soil but because 

 of the deleterious effect of impure atmospheric conditions 

 that prevail during the winter season. Sulphurous fogs 

 and continuous damp and wet, and the state of soils 

 associated with plant life carried on in confined or less 

 open garden areas, tend to hinder, rather than promote, 

 the well-being of the plants. 



SPRING SOWING OUTDOORS 



What is regarded by many as spring-sowing should really 

 be described as a late winter sowing, for there are keen 

 growers who desire to take advantage of special oppor- 

 tunities and who sow their Sweet Peas about the third 

 week in January. The only reason we can attribute for 

 this extraordinarily early work is that by the period above 

 mentioned the days begin to lengthen, and do so appreci- 

 ably in the succeeding month. Only in well-drained garden 

 soil can a January sowing be made, and even then there 

 are risks, especially in February, when the weather in 

 the United Kingdom is often of the worst character and 

 exceedingly trying to plant life, especially to plants grow- 

 ing outdoors. To be absolutely safe, growers should be 

 guided by circumstances. Should the weather permit 

 and the surface soil be in a nice friable condition after 



