222 



THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



House of Sweet Peas and Violets. 



as Blanche Ferry, Emily Henderson and 

 other varieties so grand in June and 

 July. They slumbered till the bright 

 suns of March and April. 



Here is what the Zvolanek type will 

 &amp;lt;lo. Sown where they were to flower 

 about August 18, they were in bloom by 

 Thanksgiving and by December 10 we 

 were picking a full crop. We have no 

 ticed that sweet peas are slow to open 

 their blossoms without sunlight. They 

 make little progress in dark, cloudy 

 .weather. It does not make much differ 

 ence whether they are grown in five 

 inches of soil on a raised bench or five 

 or six inches on a low bed. The latter is 

 the most convenient for picking. Give 

 them your lightest house. The rows of 

 plants, whether running across the beds 

 or lengthwise, should be north and 

 south, which gives all parts of the vineK 

 equal rays of the sun. When once started 

 into vigorous growth they want an 

 abundance of water. 



For outside they should be the very 

 first thing sown in the spring, the mo 

 ment the ground is dry enough to plow 

 or spade; or, better still, it can be dug 

 up rough in the fall, and will need no 

 digging in the spring. Draw trenches 

 three or four inches broad and the same 

 in depth, three feet apart, sow thinly 

 and cover with an inch of soil. If you 

 think it s going to be dry pour some 

 water on top of the seed before you 

 cover in with earth ; it will hasten the 

 growth. At the first hoeing you can 

 let the earth be drawn in a little higher 

 around the stems, but if the trench is 

 somewhat below the level all the better 

 for future waterings. 



The soil for peas out of doors should 



be deep and rich. There is nothing equal 

 to brush to support them, which should 

 always be placed with a line of it on 

 each side, when the growth is only two 

 or three inches high, not waiting till the 

 peas are up a foot and have fallen over 

 to one side. We don t suffer with 

 drought usually up to flowering time, 

 but a short time before you begin to 

 pick you should spread two or three 

 inches of stable litter entirely over the 

 ground between the rows. It will help 

 keep the ground moist and be of the 

 greatest benefit when you water. Unless 

 you get a rainy season you must water. 

 Give the ground not only close to the 

 plants but all the surface a thorough 

 soaking twice a week if you want your 

 crop to last. Another important thing 

 to observe is to pick all the flowers. If 

 they escape you they will quickly go to 

 seed and then your plant gets exhausted. 



Some growers sow in October, and by 

 this means I have seen flowers picked 

 ten days earlier than those sown on 

 the same ground in April. You must 

 judge for yourself the best week to 

 sow, according to the weather. You don t 

 want them to make any growth above 

 the ground, just sprouting near the sur 

 face is enough, but sow four inches deep. 

 For this purpose choose a rather high 

 part of your ground where surface water 

 will not lie. Ten days is of great im 

 portance in the sweet pea market in 

 spring. 



There are times when you might find 

 yourself with an empty bench in Feb 

 ruary. If so, sweet peas of any of the 

 standard varieties could be sown. The 

 bright weather of March and April 

 would induce flowers, and in the month 



of May they sell well, and immense 

 quantities can be picked before the out 

 side crop arrives. Sweet peas command 

 a good price at this season and sell in 

 quantity. The best colors are white and 

 pink. 



Within a few years the varieties of 

 sweet peas have become very numerous, 

 and many of them of great beauty. The 

 late Mr. Eckford was largely instrumental 

 in this. He first became an enthusiast 

 on the verbena and later turned his at 

 tention to sweet peas. Mr. Eckford prob 

 ably never heard of the writer, but 

 when I was 10 years old I knew him, 

 when he first went to be head gardener 

 to Dr. Martin, of Purbrook, Hants, Eng 

 land. Dr. Martin was one of the 

 pioneers of dentistry, who charged $10 

 to look in your mouth, $10 more to pull 

 a tooth, and $50 more for a new one. 

 But as he spent his leisure time and 

 money in gardening his extravagant 

 charges were most commendable. 



Some of the finest sweet peas are as 

 follows: Mrs. J. Chamberlain, white 

 striped rose; Lovely, beautiful pink; 

 America, white striped red; Stanley, 

 deep maroon; Bamona, pale pink; Maid 

 of Honor, white tipped lilac; Golden 

 Gleam, primrose yellow; Mars, bright 

 crimson; Countess of Radnor Improved, 

 fine lavender; Eoyal Eose, very fine rose; 

 Lady Penzance, orange tinted carmine ; 

 Blanche Ferry, extra, white and pink; 

 Blanche Burpee, best white; Catherine 

 Tracy, daybreak pink; Little Dorrit, fine 

 pink; Aurora, striped orange and white; 

 Her Majesty, rose and carmine; Gray 

 Friar, white clouded with lilac; Emily 

 Henderson, a standard white ; King of 

 the Blues, a handsome purplish blue. 



