Sweet Peas 



Once a week is often enough, and there is nothing 

 better than the old-fashioned preparation of 

 sheep dung and soot. Put a peck of sheep dung 

 into a thin potato sack and place it in a thirty 

 gallon barrel stood on end with the top removed. 

 Into another barrel of same size, put a peck of 

 soot done up in a bag in the same way. Fill 

 the barrels with water and allow to stand for 

 twenty-four hours. To feed the plants take a 

 pint of liquid out of each barrel and add to one 

 gallon of water, stir and apply this dose along 

 the lines of plants about six inches away from 

 the stems. It is a good plan to make a rut with 

 a hoe, two inches deep, apply the liquid and re- 

 place the soil. This can be done with safety once 

 a week. As the soot and dung get exhausted 

 increase the pint of each to one and a quarter 

 or one and a half per gallon. Renew entirely 

 the soot and dung when the mixture begins to 

 get weak. One gallon of liquid is enough for 

 five or six feet of a row of plants. One other hint 

 here will be helpful. The flower buds on sweet 

 pea plants often drop off without expanding. 

 Under glass they even do this at times. It is 

 caused by sudden changes which check growth, 

 and there is nothing more ready to cause it than 

 chill cold water. If soft water which has been 



34 



